Hold Me
by Golden Snowflake
Summary: And as she watched him exhaustedly through the shadows, she almost forgot why she hated him.
1. Prologue

00: Prologue

* * *

The sun beat down from the sky, piercing the fluffy clouds that meandered through it. The breeze was harsh and peppered with the scent of water, tossed up into it from the seas of Tropica several miles to the east.

Piper stood on the bridge, wringing her hands. She had a headache and the nape of her neck felt sticky, even though the _Condor_ was an even 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Stork glanced up from the helm, not muttering for a moment. When she only glanced at him silently, he turned back to focus on his worrying.

Finally, the navigator took a deep breath. She wasn't getting any younger and she certainly wasn't getting any bolder, so the only way to solve the problem was for her to just get it over with.

Stepping out onto the outer deck, the girl smiled in spite of herself as the electric snap of the anti-meteor shield sounded overhead. Stork's silent thoughtfulness never ceased to amuse her.

Aerrow was leaning against the railing, his green eyes bright and his rust-colored bangs blowing in the wind.

When he noticed her, the sky knight looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Hey, Piper."

Feeling sick, the navigator smiled. "Hey, Aerrow."

Noticing her hesitation, his smile faded a little. "Did you need something?"

"Uh- no. I just wanted to talk."

Her voice sounded unnatural, even to her.

"Oh. Okay." The handsome smile returned. "What's up?"

"Um, Aerrow, I've kind of been wondering about … something."

Piper leaned against the railing, willing her heart not to beat a hole through her chest before she finished. The sun ducked graciously behind a cloud for a minute.

"Yeah?" She was too nervous to tell whether he was looking at her or not.

"We've all been a squadron for a long time." She thought about it for a minute. "Well, relatively speaking, that is. Compared to all of existence, we've only known each other for a fraction of a-"

"I get it," Aerrow prompted politely.

"And I guess I've known you for a long time too. You're my … best friend."

Working up the nerve to look at him, she gauged his response. He was smiling.

He was so beautiful when he smiled.

"I trust you more than Junko, and Finn of course, and even Stork. You just seem to be … I don't know." She shrugged. "On the same wavelength as me."

"I always thought so too." He looked back at the sky.

"I guess I was just wondering about that." Piper hesitated. "About our relationship."

Something told her that his smile had faded.

"Piper?"

Her response was a little too fast. "What?"

"Have you ever read the official code of the sky knights?"

For once, a book she _hadn't _read. "I don't think so. Why?"

"There's a- passage."

He turned to look at her, and, shaking, she looked at him.

"It's in the fourth chapter."

The navigator swallowed and nodded. Something was wrong.

It took a long moment for him to speak. It was the first time that he'd addressed Piper without looking her in the eye. Maybe the first time she'd seen him look down while speaking at all.

"Sky knights and squadron members can't engage in intimate relationships."

His emerald eyes snapped up and he pulled in a breath.

"Oh."

She nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry, Piper. Maybe it's … I'm really sorry."

"Oh. No. It's okay."

Backing up, the navigator smiled. The smile didn't feel right. Not like a smile at all.

Turning around, she walked back inside. Stork looked at her for a long moment, and as she entered the hallway he began hammering at something while whispering to himself.

The door shut behind her and she sank to the floor, burying her face in her hands.


	2. The Fight

01: The Fight

* * *

Finn hurtled into the room, his blue eyes huge. He opened his mouth to speak when Junko careened into him, bowling him over. "What's happening?!" the Wallop cried.

"Talons," Aerrow responded, strapping on his armor. "And a lot of them."

"What?!" Finn stood back up, rubbing the lump appearing on his forehead. "Out here in the middle of nowhere?!"

"Mindworms," said Stork quietly.

"Head straight for them, Stork." Aerrow darted toward the hangar and stopped to look over his shoulder. "I wanna break up this flock."

Cringing in horror, the Merb pulled back the giant clutches and the carrier launched forward. The dozens of tiny specks morphed into tan and dusky red switchblades as Junko, Finn and Aerrow sprinted to their skimmers. They launched out of the ship. Finn loaded his crossbow and Junko cracked his knuckle busters together, activating them with an electric screech. Aerrow climbed onto the wing of his ride as Radarr took over the controls, and his energy blades streaked the air with icy-hued sparks.

The door from the hallway swished open again, barely audible beneath the sounds of a million alarms blaring frantically. Piper raced into the room, cringing as a talon smacked the front window and the glass cracked from the impact. "What's going on?!"

"Nice of you to join in!" Stork glared at her, his huge eyes panicked.

"Cyclonians? Why are they here?!"

"Speculation isn't going to make them GO AWAY!" He steered the Condor into a cluster of the goggled men, sending two entangled bikes into a nosedive. "You're gonna have to get out there. Aerrow's got his hands full already."

Nodding, the navigator pelted back to her room, grabbing her energy staff off of the floor.

The sky was littered with talons, and Piper's heliscooter buzzed gracelessly toward them as the wind blasted her face. Aerrow dragged his blade through the engine of a switchblade and the Cyclonian wailed as he flew off of it, tumbling through the sky toward Piper. She screamed as he smacked into the blade of her bike and was tossed upward. "This was _not_ a good idea," she muttered to herself.

The second she regained control, a blast hit the side of her engine, nearly knocking her off. She yelped and looked around. A lanky, pale Cyclonian with a moustache and a snide smirk was approaching her, weapon drawn.

"Hey, ugly!"

Scowling, he whipped around in his seat. A familiar blonde face was just behind him, and Finn fired off several shots as Piper grinned in spite of herself. Finn looked up at her and cupped a hand to shout at her.

"Piper, get out of here! I'll take care of this chump!"

"Hey! Who are you calling a _chump_, chump?"

The talon was obviously offended.

Junko dove past in pursuit of several other talons and Piper accelerated toward an outcropping surrounded by cumulus clouds in the distance.

The cacophony faded as the navigator fled, letting her speed drop as she coasted onto the ground. Climbing off her sky-ride, she sighed.

Piper didn't realize how far away the Condor had gotten until she turned around. The swarm of Cyclonians had gotten smaller and was buzzing around it, a mass of tiny dots converging on one another and terminating in fiery pops that somewhat resembled angry fireworks.

The girl looked back at her heliscooter and gasped. "Oh no," she whispered to herself. She tapped a slender finger to the fuel gauge and the needle remained on empty. The wind ruffled her hair as she glanced back at the ship.

"Stork? Come in. Stork?"

For a minute, her only answer was static.

"Fine," she muttered. "I'll leave a message. Storm Hawks, this is Piper. I'm scouting for more crystals. I'll be back as soon as I refuel. Over and out."

Her fingertip rested on the button as she debated whether to send the transmission before or after she'd replenished her supply. The girl glanced tensely back at the receding battle and sighed. "I hope this doesn't take too long."

Starting onto the foggy terrain, the girl slung her bag of gear over her shoulder. The air was far colder where it skirted over the tops of the approaching clouds and she shielded her face as she trotted alongside a vertical face of stone.

A sudden flash of crimson made Piper stagger backward in surprise. For a moment she stood still, bewildered.

"Did something…"

She reached up to touch her head where an odd feeling was beginning. It felt … thick. Dark.

_Did something hit me?_

Before her hand made contact with the growing bruise, the world began to churn before her eyes. Silvery gray enveloped the edges of her vision and the prickle of cold air vanished from her skin. Gravity evaporated from under her and the world was fading, fading, fading into dark.

The figure appeared from the shadows and caught her with its slender arms, unaffected by her weight. The bright hue of his irises flittered on her vision before her eyes closed.

The wind roared over the edge of the terra and several more talons dropped from the sky.

* * *

Finally. I'm back, baby! I've been through quite a bit in the past year, so I apologize for leaving you guys hanging. I'm committing to my stories now, though, and I promise, with the practice I've gotten, I won't disappoint you.

Also, I want to repeat that this story is rated M for good reasons. Please think twice if there's a chance that dark subject matter or an honorable character's judgment being questioned will bother you or taint your view of Storm Hawks as a whole. I would feel horrible if I ruined it for somebody younger.

Thank you SO MUCH for sticking around. Please leave me feedback and advice. See you again soon!


	3. Headache

02: Headache

* * *

Cold and bright.

Piper cringed when pain stabbed through her forehead. Her shoulder screamed as she lifted her arm to feel her skin. A dull throb made her grunt, but her finger met softness.

Cautious not to apply pressure, she traced the edges of it. It was a piece of gauze, and it was taped tightly to her dark flesh.

"Ngh- where…"

Her ocher eyes fluttered open. The sky - no, it was ceiling - was black.

"Where am I?"

Her spine cracked as the girl pushed herself off the floor. It was ice cold and hard, but nothing seemed to hurt as badly as her head. Black marble laced with strips of white and rich, dark wood was everywhere. There was a sink and a wide bathtub lined with what looked like onyx flecked with shards of silver. Her forehead screamed and her vision darkened. She began to worry that it might be bleeding.

Wherever she was, Piper decided, somebody had dressed her wound, so he or she had to be compassionate.

Trying to speak, she coughed gracelessly and crumpled into a ball. "Hello?"

When nobody responded, she rocked onto her heels and tried to stand up. "Where is this? Is anybody here?"

Finally able to balance, she straightened up and gripped the counter. There was sweat on her palm, and it made a sucking sound when she pulled her hand off the expensive stone.

The room outside was huge, opening to a cathedral ceiling and maroon walls. The furnishings suggested that the owner was extremely wealthy. Piper's jaw hung slack as she admired the ornate frames around the windows and the bed against the far wall. Again she said, "Hello?"

Movement in the far corner caught her attention. She looked over and her stomach dropped to her feet.

He pulled the piece of armor off of his shoulder with a grunt before setting it down. She realized she'd gasped when he froze and looked over his shoulder.

When he turned around, her senses came back to her and she screamed, stumbling backward.

"_Quiet!"_ he hissed, and he started toward her. She jolted away from him and bumped into the doorframe behind her.

"Stay back, Dark Ace!" She raised her arms and crouched in a defensive sky-fu stance, eyes wide with fear.

The Cyclonian's eyes narrowed as he reached her. "You insolent brat!" She dove beneath his outstretched arm and rolled onto her feet, launching herself toward his doors. Pain exploded in he leg and she cried out as she hit the floor with a thump.

"GET OFF!" she screamed, kicking as he squeezed her ankle. His weight shoved her into the carpet, and he pinned one of her arms to the ground as she squirmed.

"Shut up," he snapped as she struggled and shouted, pushing himself on top of her and trying to get one hand over her mouth as she kicked. "Shut _up!"_

Jerking violently, Piper squeaked and thrashed her head to either side as his long fingers tightened on her face. He shoved one arm under her and pulled her stomach off the ground, robbing her of anything to push off of. She writhed again as his grip on her mouth became as hard as forceps and her strength started to fade.

"Shut up." He jerked her to emphasize his words. Squeaking again in terror, she went limp as tears slid down her face. Her head was spinning and her stomach hurt from his nails digging into it. His breaths were short beside her ear, and her fear was rotted by humiliation as the water streaking down her face hit his thumb. She began to shake with terror and shock.

The Dark Ace pressed his mouth against her ear, balanced on his knees and one elbow. She gripped the arm covering her mouth and was shocked at how muscular it was.

"Do you have _any_ idea what Master Cyclonis would do to you if she found you here? _Do_ you?!" He shook her again and she cried out in fear. He gasped for breath for a moment. "She would _kill_ you. Painfully and slowly. _Don't_ underestimate her."

When she gasped against his palm, he loosened his grip. She swallowed and struggled to pull in air. "What- what are you doing?!"

"I knew you were a pathetic child." He let go of her and she dropped to the floor. "I didn't know you were ungrateful as well."

He stood up and glowered at her with his blazing eyes before whipping around and stalking away. Piper blinked and curled her arms defensively around herself, still choking as she tried to inhale.

The warrior strode to the bathroom and halted, shooting a glare over his shoulder. He slammed the door and she jolted.

Utterly bewildered, Piper pushed herself into a sitting position. For a minute she was motionless. The door muffled the thumps coming from the opposite side, and when what felt like a few minutes passed, she began to look around for lack of a better idea.

The suite was utterly gorgeous, including all the luxuries of a fully-furnished home. The thick carpet covering the bed area was snow white with little sweeps of tan in it. Her fingers seemed pitch-black in contrast. Now she also noticed that she was still fully dressed. A coat of sweat became apparent as she again pressed her hand to her face, and she sighed shakily. She had no idea what to think, let alone what to do.

The door swished open and she started.

The Dark Ace looked shockingly different without his armor, excusing his ever-arrogant stare. His hair glistened and his skin glowed. Despite his slender build, how muscular he was was obvious beneath only a white tank-top. He was wearing long pants, and from their glossy sheen, the girl guessed they were made of silk.

His lips curved into a half-sneer. "What are you staring at?"

Piper was unsure of what to say. "Wh-why am I here? I want you to release me!"

He sniffed in amusement. She guessed that was his response to her second statement.

Now his cockiness was beginning to irritate her. She frowned. "_Why_ am I here?"

The Cyclonian blinked his ruby eyes.

"What do you remember?"

Surprised by his frankness, she looked at the floor. "I- I was on the _Condor_ and then…" Her eyes darted to and fro as she struggled. Should she have said anything at all? Her head throbbed angrily and she blinked, frustrated and worried by her lack of memory.

"I'd imagine your bruise is beginning to bother you," he said almost casually, taking a step toward her.

"Stay back," she hissed, scrambling away as the carpet rustled beneath her boots.

Not seeming troubled, he finally replied. "Fine."

Her mouth was open as he walked away. It didn't make any sense. Nothing did.

He moved to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. She swallowed and realized how thirsty she was.

Suddenly she realized how close the door was.

If he kept his back to her, she could be to it in half a second. She jerked, stopping herself. There was no way of knowing where she was. Her only guess was Cyclonia - where else would the Dark Ace's quarters be? Yeah, the Storm Hawks had infiltrated the massive empire once before, but security was almost definitely heavier now. And if Cyclonis found her, there was no way she'd be able to defend herself.

Exhausted, Piper clenched her fists. There were too many variables. As the talon leader began to eat a granola bar, the navigator decided to wait and regain her strength. As well as she could, that is, considering how unpredictable her captor was.

As time began to drag its quiet feet, she pressed her back against the footboard of the immense bed. It felt good against her hot, aching shoulders. Though she was tense and her amber eyes followed his every movement, exhaustion swept over her rapidly. She rested her forehead on her knees and pulled them close, listening to his footsteps as she closed her eyes.

Darkness was learning to envelop her quickly.


	4. Dinner

03: Dinner

* * *

Darkness.

Darkness on the cusp of breaking. Darkness so rigid and sharp that it was squeezing the life out of her.

And then a flicker of green appeared between the strips of shadow.

Huge and frightened. She could feel his eyes on her now from somewhere.

"Aerrow?"

Her voice felt distorted and disjointed.

Something was materializing behind her. Something made of muffled sound and vacuum-sealed space and fright. The air felt slow and sludgy and heavy like brick and she knew she wouldn't be able to.

She turned around.

He was there. Like an angel. And his smile was gentle and warm and oh-so Aerrow. She reached out to him through the dagger like dark and it sliced through her slender arm, ripping it through to the bone and making blood bubble up and pour out. It didn't matter because it was a sacrifice for _him_.

And in one motion, he was torn away from her, his head bouncing dangerously forward on his spine and his arms extending toward her.

The darkness enveloped him, shrunk him to nothingness, and gravity filled the increasing space between them until it was smothering her. And then like a cold, slow-dawning irony at the end of a novel, she realized that he didn't _want_ to be there. Not with her.

And now she was bleeding, pouring out, spurting red droplets of life, and there was nobody to help her. The speed at which it flowed horrified her, and she tried not to faint as she pressed her hand to the largest of the yawning holes in her wrist, shaking as fierce agony lanced up from her emptying fingers.

She sucked in air, just _daring_ the dreamworld to try to keep her from making noise. And she screamed his name with all her strength, with all her soul.

_Aerrow._

Piper awoke and the desperate fear clutching her heart turned icy. She was in blackness, real blackness, and it was cold and she wasn't in her bed, even her room.

No, she thought. No, that _had_ to be a dream.

Her head began to throb and she knew that it had all been real. She felt sick.

Sitting up, she pulled her knees to her chest, and was shocked at how thick the soreness was throughout her body. A blanket fell off of her, curling into a crescent at her feet. She was freezing and her stomach gurgled in annoyance.

A shifting behind her made her whip around. Rising to her knees, she peered over the edge of the bed.

He was asleep, one hand draped on his stomach and the other loosely behind his head. Piper could barely look at him without trembling.

With a livid roar, her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten for an indefinite period of time. She wanted to approximate half a day, but her pounding head wouldn't permit her to make any good guess.

Sinking back to the floor, the navigator sighed. She had to eat.

For a long moment, the darkness swerved toward a half-sleep. The Dark Ace shifted and she jolted awake.

She _had _to eat.

The girl stood up slowly, eyes on her captor. He didn't move as she rose, and she turned toward his kitchen as her mouth began to water. Her terror still lingered from the nightmare, and as she focused on not awakening the Dark Ace, the nerves shifted to that subject.

His flooring was tile of some sort, and she carefully crossed it to his refrigerator, making sure each step was slower than the last.

Kneeling before the door, she closed her sweaty hand around the handle and began to pull.

"Allow me."

Jumping backward, she landed on the floor, gaping. He sniffed in amusement and smiled.

Her heart was pounding as Piper gawked at him. She didn't know if she was more frightened or angry. He extracted a covered bowl as if it were the most normal thing in the world for a maniacally evil person to do and set it on the counter, uncovering it and moving about to get spoons and seasonings.

"I'm not hungry."

As if inconvenienced, he looked up at her in mild irritation.

When he made no motion to acknowledge her statement, she tried again.

"I'm not _hungry_."

The Cyclonian blinked. "And what do you think you'll gain from saying that?"

"I don't want any of your food."

He sighed. "Eating to keep yourself from starving to death isn't traitorous."

Crossing her arms, she opened her mouth to respond. She then realized that she didn't have a good response at all. She blinked, closed her mouth, and merited yet another smile from her captor.

Hoping it wouldn't make it look like she was giving in, she stood up and peered at the pot he was stirring at. "W-what _is_ that?"

"Soup," he said simply.

"What kind?"

For a second he looked at her. "Good soup."

No less vexed, she dropped her arms to her sides and watched him heat it up. Finally he turned the stove off and produced two bowls, pouring half of it into either of them with dexterity that impressed even her. He shoved one toward her and watched expectantly.

Her eyebrows drew together stubbornly.

"I'm not hungry."

"Yes you are." He picked the bowl up and poked her in the chest with it. She caught it and stepped backward, frowning at him. He offered her a spoon and she looked at it for a moment as hatefully as she could. When it refused to evaporate, she took it.

Now she stared at the bowl. It smelled heavenly, and as she inhaled the steam rising off of the top her stomach gave a fierce growl. Her face flushed in embarrassment and she hoped he hadn't heard it.

"Well?"

She looked up at him, and he continued to watch her with his piercing eyes.

Looking back down, she swallowed. It _looked_ pretty good.

"Look at me."

Her head shot up again and he scooped a steaming spoonful of vegetables out of the broth, leaning his head back and eating it. How majestic he could look even eating soup was astounding.

Convinced that it wasn't laced with poison, she fixed it a final time in her stare. She set it down on the island in the middle of the room and twirled her spoon to hold it properly.

It tasted fantastic.

Almost dizzy with hunger, the navigator shoved another spoonful in. Her stomach gurgled in encouragement.

She didn't look up until she'd eaten all of it, and only then when she became self-conscious about scraping the spoon on the bottom of the bowl as if more soup would magically appear if she kept doing it.

The Dark Ace was slurping, and he looked up as she stared at him. "Do you want some more?"

It was then she realized that the only other food was in his bowl. She shook her head.

After finishing his food slowly, Dark Ace set it down and pushed himself up onto the counter. "Are you feeling better?"

Thinking about it, Piper nodded.

"Good." He scooted back further, leaning forward with his hands on the edges of the stone. She thought he resembled some predatory creature but said nothing.

Guardedly, she looked down at her bowl and back up at him and asked her question.

"Why are you keeping me here?"

He blinked, and his red gaze revealed nothing.

"Why wouldn't you be here?"

She opened her mouth to respond before she realized that this wasn't a direct question.

Her tone took on a clipped, annoyed quality. "I'm not getting any answers out of you, am I?"

He pursed his lower lip and shook his head, eyes closed.

Setting the bowl down, she crossed her arms. "Why did you give me soup?"

"You were hungry." He all but muttered 'duh' at the end of his sentence.

For a minute she thought. "Well, why did you tackle me earlier?!"

His dark eyelashes flickered over his stare. "I'll do what I have to."

Unnerved, Piper fidgeted. She nodded and bit her bottom lip, feigning acknowledgment, and walked back to the bedroom area of his suite.

"You look uncomfortable."

Irate, she turned around. "Oh. Do I?"

He allowed a pause. "I'm sure I have some clothes that would fit you."

Spreading her arms, she frowned. "Do I _look_ like I want to wear your clothes?"

"I didn't assume you did."

Turning back around, Piper sat down on his bed, re-crossing her arms. She sighed loudly. His stare somehow felt like it was … laughing at her.

She knew how evil the Dark Ace was, but she couldn't believe how _annoying_ he was too.


	5. Alone

04: Alone

* * *

The door swished open and Stork stood, eyes wide with terror. A lopsided party hat sat atop his head.

Groggy, Aerrow stared at him. "What is it?"

"Help."

Only the single word was uttered before Finn bowled the Merb over. "WHOOOOO!"

"What's going on?"

The sniper smacked a hat down on his leader's head, snapping the elastic band around Aerrow's chin. "NO-PIPER PARTY!"

"No- what?"

Finn ignored him. "Dude! We have to take this opportunity!"

The befuddled sky knight blinked. "_What_ opportunity?"

Sputtering, the blonde wrapped an arm around Aerrow's shoulders and dragged him into the hallway. "_Think_, Aerrow! No responsibilities."

Aerrow's expression went doubtful. "Just because Piper's not here doesn't mean we don't-"

"No lectures."

"That's not all she-"

"No girly music."

"Her music's not-"

"No folding clothes."

"But-"

"No being quiet."

"I-"

"No bedtime. No arguing about putting posters up. No lectures for wearing dirty underwear. No healthy meals."

For a long moment the sky knight was silent, looking at the sharpshooter. Stork crossed his arms and one corner of his mouth went upward in a smug smile, anticipating Aerrow's scolding.

"NO-PIPER PARTY!"

The Merb's ears drooped in shocked disappointment as the two squad-mates sprinted down the hallway, cheering. "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

-xXxXx-

Piper awoke slowly, and as she opened her eyes, a familiar ache settled into her head.

Pushing herself up, she looked at his bed.

He wasn't there.

Scrambling to her feet, she skimmed her gaze across the room. He wasn't anywhere.

For a split second adrenaline flooded her veins. This was her chance. She had to get out.

With cloudy slowness, though, she began to reconsider. There were too many variables. She just couldn't. Not yet.

It was cool in the room, and it made the little navigator feel like she was covered in a waxy layer of filth. She looked down at herself. Her clothes were crumpled and smeared with dirt. His quarters were immaculate, so it wasn't too hard to assume that the awful smell was coming from her, too.

"I am _not_ cut out for this," she groaned.

The door opened next to her and Piper looked over for a moment before registering what she saw.

Squeaking in shock, she jumped backwards, turned away, and covered her eyes in one oddly graceful movement.

"_What?_" The Dark Ace glared in annoyance for a second. Looking down at himself, he muttered, "Oh."

Piper had seen the Leviathan, a giant tentacled monster with men for eyestalks, and the crab-arachnid hybrid nicknamed 'Colonel.' But nothing could prepare her for seeing the Dark Ace in only a towel.

"Put some clothes on!" Piper shrieked.

"No need to be disrespectful," he snapped, but the awkwardness in his voice made it clear that he too was uncomfortable. "…it's _safe_ now."

She turned around reluctantly to meet his irritated gaze.

It occurred to her after a moment that this was the first time she'd seen him in anything other than his talon uniform.

"What?"

Her attention snapped up from his outfit. He was wearing a black sweater with a white shirt beneath it. The unbuttoned collar and the cuffs of the sleeves peeked out from beneath it as well as from the bottom of it, breaking up the similarity between the hues of the sweater and the black pants.

Feeling obligated to answer, she meekly managed, "Where are you going?"

"I have business to attend to." He sniffed at her expression. "I don't just fly around beheading redheaded brats all day."

Her dark eyebrows drew together. "Oh," she said flatly.

"I'll be back in several hours. Don't cause any trouble in my absence."

Though she opened her mouth to argue, she couldn't think of anything to say. He was gone before a word came out.

Though Piper hurried to the door and tried to listen to which direction he'd gone in, all she could hear were echoes that didn't have any direction. She pulled her ear from the door and sighed.

As she stood, her orange eyes unseeing on the far wall, the question that had been fuzzy in the back of her head finally came to the forefront. How were the rest of the Storm Hawks? _Where_ were they? Would there be any way for them to locate her?

And the conversation with Aerrow…

Her stomach began to twist up as she began to remember each word. The sun blinding her … the brisk wind and the clamminess of her palms. The curve of his back as the sky knight stood, looking somewhere over the horizon.

"Stop," she found herself moaning, and she pressed her hands against either side of her head. She felt like she was going to throw up. She sank to the floor slowly, trying to swallow the crawly greenish sensation that was spreading from her stomach to her throat.

For a long moment she practiced a meditation technique she'd read about, focusing on the air around her. On her breathing.

Gradually the navigator began to relax. She opened her eyes, parting her lips and drawing in a deep breath. The nausea was slowly beginning to stop its crawl, and after a few minutes, it began to recede.

And as it did, her stomach growled.

"Again?"

Glaring down at her flat abdomen, she rested a hand on it. It gurgled once more, and she cautiously stood up.

Now her friends were at the very back of her head of her own volition. Only her surroundings were her focus. She got to the fridge and peered inside. In a strange way, seeing moldy things long past their expiration date was familiar and comforting. She settled on a plate of cookie-esque things and pulled out a glass bottle of something.

Piper set the cookies on the island at the center of the kitchen and unscrewed the cap of the bottle. It looked just like the ones the Hawks used, but she was reluctant to assume that it was something they'd usually drink.

The scent of the red liquid inside was pungent, but the girl couldn't tell whether it was alcoholic or not. She got out another two of the bottles, thinking that if it was her refrigerator she'd have everything labeled and maybe alphabetized within their food-group categories.

Finally she decided that the last bottle she'd extracted was some sort of fruit juice, and she hunted for cups and plates for another few minutes until she found one of each. She inhaled half the cookies (which, for having such a frightening owner, were rather yummy) and drank two glasses of the mystery juice. Her head felt a little odd afterward, but she told herself that she was just being paranoid.

The urge to formulate some type of plan was nearly involuntary. Piper sat at the table, going in circles in her mind. She knew a little about building layouts and the ways historical fortresses were designed, but it was foolish to think that Cyclonis would be that predictable in her blueprints. Besides that, she'd have to find a hangar to steal a switchblade from and figure out which direction to go in. It would be nearly impossible in the thick, thundering mass that hung over the Cyclonian empire like a predator watching its prey. How did it work? Was each talon issued one bike, or were there extras? _Surely_ there were extras…

Finally the girl got up and put away the food. It felt bizarre to be washing a plate in the Dark Ace's sink, and stranger yet to put it away in the Dark Ace's cupboards. She wiped off the Dark Ace's counters and dried the Dark Ace's sink. She walked back into the Dark Ace's bedroom, and perched on the end of the Dark Ace's bed.

Bizarre hardly did it justice.

Piper heaved a sigh, and remembered as she inhaled that she was extremely dirty. Coughing in disgust, she stood up, hesitated a minute, then walked into his bathroom.

It was only then that she realized that she hadn't gone to the bathroom in … what was it? A day? Horrified, she hurried over to the toilet and squawked in horror at how cold the seat was. She did what needed to be done, washed her hands, and looked in his mirror.

She looked horrendous.

Puffy circles hung below either of her eyes, and the whites of them were bloodshot. Her lower lip looked like it had a healing cut running diagonally across it, and she wondered faintly how long it had been there. Her normally glossy hair was so heavy with grease that it sagged toward her neck and ears, and her face was covered in sweat.

Her gloves were already off, and she wasted no time in shedding the rest of her clothing. She doubted the Cyclonian would be back any time soon, but she wasn't taking any chances. The door clicked closed as she pushed it absentmindedly with one elbow, looking around in the drawers and cupboards for soap. Finally she found a bar, and she turned to his bathtub.

Even having seen the rest of his suite, she was flabbergasted at how huge it was.

"What does he do in this," she uttered to herself, "have pool parties?"

She fidgeted, arms crossed and ears straining, as it slowly filled up. She cringed as she slid her leg into it, and waited for a long moment before lowering herself in. The hot water felt heavenly, and despite her anxiety, her muscles began to relax.

Doing her best not to fall asleep in the warmth, the navigator worked the stubborn soap into her hair and scrubbed every centimeter of filth off of her chocolate skin. It was both invigorating and absurdly surreal. Surreal to be in the Dark Ace's bathtub.

As her mind pursued that train of thought, the idea of being seated in the same place he had been many times before began to make her uncomfortable. She again thought of him standing there in only a towel, of yelling "PUT SOME CLOTHES ON," and now she was _extremely_ uncomfortable. Piper began to think of how she could organize the contents of his fridge as she hurriedly rinsed her hair, got out, and located a towel. That made her feel better. As she dried herself, it slowly sank in that she had nothing to wear. She almost became nauseous again at the thought of wearing his clothes.

Piper wrapped her towel around herself as tightly as physically possible before cracking the door open and scanning the room. She opened the wardrobe he'd used earlier, and looked at his piles of clothing haplessly. She finally selected an old white sweater and a pair of blue pajama pants.

Now the girl had no idea how to react to her reflection. She looked better, but her ridiculously oversized clothing felt … it felt expensive. And expensive was not something she was interested in.

Folding up her filth-covered uniform, she set it on the marble countertop. She scrubbed her headband with the damp corner of her towel until it wasn't dirty and slid it back into her hair. Immediately she felt a little more like herself.

Walking back out of the bathroom, Piper looked around the gorgeous rooms. Her mind began its circles once more. She _had_ to get out. But how? And when? She would probably have to do a little recon before her final escape … she needed a switchblade; probably a talon uniform. Her stomach was full and her clothes were warm and the task seemed _so_ daunting.

Piper flopped onto (THE DARK ACE'S) bed and sighed. It smelled musky; a little like Aerrow's and Finn's rooms when she put their clean clothes on their shelves and occasionally straightened their belongings.

She missed them.

So much.

Tears stung her eyes as sleep captured her once more.


	6. The Plan

05: The Plan

* * *

The shadow that passed over her didn't rouse Piper, but the feeling of warmth on her cheek made her flinch. She grunted and opened her heavy eyes, His blood-colored gaze drifted over her and she slowly realized that his fingers were cupping her face.

"Are you all right?"

His voice snapped her awake. Scrambling away, she squeaked in shock. "What are you doing?"

"I was worried," he replied simply.

"About what?"

"You were still."

"I was _sleeping_."

He blinked. "I'm aware of that now."

Piper breathed heavily for a few seconds, then fell silent.

"When did you get back?" she finally managed.

He bit into the apple he was holding. "About an hour ago."

Trying to collect herself, the girl crossed her legs and locked her arms together self-consciously.

"How are you?"

"Uhh," she sputtered, "fine."

It felt ridiculously strange to converser with him. It almost felt like her _duty_ to argue with him.

"Are you comfortable?"

"Um, kind of."

_Except for the fact that I'm in Cyclonia, _the sarcastic part of her added silently.

After a paused he nodded once. "Good."

Completely dumbfounded, the little navigator watched the Cyclonian stride across the room.

"Wh-" her throat locked up from nerves and she tried again. "Where did you go?"

He stopped, looked over his shoulder, and chuckled.

Now she was getting mad.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Where did you _go?"_

"What would you like?"

"I'm not hungry."

"The fruit is delicious."

"I'm _not_ hungry."

He returned with a platter of food of nearly every color and knelt down, crossing his arms on the edge of the bed.

After several moments of glaring at him contemptuously, she gave up. She selected a plump looking sky berry and crunched it between her teeth, watching warily. He smiled.

She was beginning to enjoy herself when he seated himself on the edge of the bed beside her. She stopped eating and fixed him in a nervous stare.

The Dark Ace repeated his mantra.

"_What?"_

For some reason this got on her nerves. "What do you mean, 'what'?"

"There's no reason to feel uncomfortable."

"Of _course_ there is! You're the Dark Ace! And you're sitting right _next _to me!"

For a moment he looked thoughtful. "There isn't much I can do about that."

Throwing her arms out, she exclaimed, "Sit somewhere else!"

He made a face that was impossible to decipher, then replied. "No."

Piper made a noise that could loosely be spelled "HRRRGH" and got up. She stormed over to the kitchen and hopped on the island, crossing her arms.

A few moments crept by before the Hawk's irritation came to a head.

"Stop staring at me."

"You're directly in my line of vision."

"UGH." She glared, orange eyes blazing. "You're worse than Finn!"

The warrior raised an eyebrow. "That's insulting."

Now she was getting angry again. "What do _you_ know about him?"

Peeling another piece of fruit, he said, "Only that he's obscenely immature." Before she could reply, he grinned. "The two of you would make a good couple."

"What?" she shrieked. Smiling, he turned his focus to eating. "I would _never_ be attracted to someone as childish as him!"

Swallowing, he nodded. "Ah. So you like maturity."

She remained unresponsive.

"Who, then? The carrier pilot?"

Her face crinkled and she said, "No."

His smirk faded and his stare became cold.

"Aerrow?"

A split second passed, Piper's eyes on the floor. "You know, I really don't know why you think it's any of your business. Maybe I'm not interested in anybody."

Shrugging, he finally looked back at the green object he was peeling. "Causing doubt in the minds of do-gooders isn't my business." He smiled. "It's my job."

Hardly amused, Piper fidgeted in her oversized clothes. The Dark Ace resumed his eating nonchalantly. She watched him pluck berries with his slender fingers, sliding them between his lips and perfect teeth. After a long while, his eyes flicked up to hers and nervousness filled her once more.

"Stop staring at me!"

To her surprise, the warrior threw his head back and laughed.

"Fine!"

Hopping off the counter, she stormed into his bathroom and slammed the door. His eyes followed her every step, and despite her attempt to ignore him, she could hear him chuckling.

As the girl listened to her captor walk back and forth, doing whatever it was villains do when they're not wreaking havoc, she sat in the center of the cold floor and again tried to purge herself of all frustration. She forced all thoughts of his mocking red eyes out and focused on her breathing. _Think,_ she told herself. Her normal plans required paper, maps, and her own room to relax in to formulate. She'd just have to do without them this time.

A knock on the door interrupted her. The yellow-eyed girl stood up and opened the door.

He stared down at her. "If you don't mind, I'd like permission to use my bathroom."

"Permission granted," Piper replied, sidling past him so their bodies didn't touch. He closed the door again, and she sauntered across the carpet. While he was assuming that she was having a childish tantrum, she had been organizing her objectives. The toilet flushed and she smiled with satisfaction only the navigator of a Sky Knight squadron can understand.

**PIPER'S PLAN:**

1) Stay long enough to fully recover.

2) Learn as much about Cyclonia's inner workings as possible.

3) Attempt to gain the Dark Ace's trust and learn about him.

4) Formulate an escape plan, including a general idea of where in Cyclonia his quarters were.

5) Escape.

* * *

Again, I really appreciate your feedback. Thank you all so much for your support so far! :)


	7. Un Piper

06: Un-Piper

* * *

The sun glinted its first rays over the clouds and they gleamed through the _Condor's_ thick front window.

The door at the end of the hall swished open and the pilot peered reluctantly out. He looked in both directions while holding his breath. When the corridor remained still, he allowed his worried expression fade slightly.

Stork walked out of his room and was promptly trampled by his fellow Hawks.

"NO PIPER PARTY!"

Finn led the pack, whooping at the top of his lungs. Junko raced after the sharpshooter, hopping up and down. The ship groaned in protest at his every leap.

"Whoo!" Finn whipped around at the end of the hall, grinning back at the wallop behind him. "Who'da thought we'd ever find a use for these triple sugar Terra Neon energy smoothies?" He raised his sloshing cup, and Junko clunked it against his own.

Eyes narrowed, the merb glared at the pair from where he lay on the floor. A tapping sound appeared behind him and he looked over his shoulder.

When he saw what it was, he screamed.

A blue streak was shooting down the hallway, zinging off the walls as it went. Stork covered his head as it smacked the floor next to him and shot past. Peeking between his fingers, he stared daggers at it.

"Woo _hoo_! Radarr's having a good time," Finn observed, and dove out of the way as the fuzzy blue streak collided with Junko and knocked him over.

The sky knight trailed after his companions, stopping as his feet neared Stork. "Guys, isn't it about time to call it quits? We've been up all night."

"Are you kidding? The fun's just starting!" Radarr crawled across Junko to the spilled smoothie spattered on the floor. He licked the red mixture, made a particularly loud squawking sound, and rocketed back down the hall.

"_Guys_," Aerrow whined, watching as the sharpshooter and the strongman raced onto the bridge. "I'm tired. And I'm not even _happy_ that Piper's gone."

The redhead's eyes wandered to Stork's, searching for any manner of compassion. He received a look full of utter disgust instead, and he blinked as the merb pushed himself off the floor and stalked back into his room. The door slammed shut in his face.

An enormous yawn overtook the sky knight as he stood in the hallway, and he scratched his stomach after stretching for a long moment. The sleepy glaze over his eyes let up, and for a moment his pupils were clear.

"I hope Piper's okay…"

-xXxXx-

The wind was so strong that it sucked out her breath and tossed it away. She could feel herself shaking all over. _Get a grip,_ she wanted to urge herself. Yet something obstructed her thoughts from reaching her body.

Her steps felt awkward as she trod forward and the metal clanked loudly beneath her boots.

"Hey, Piper."

His eyes locked on her like two beautiful searchlights. So green. Immediately her fright grew thicker inside her.

A false smile forced itself onto her lips. "Hey, Aerrow."

Suddenly she realized that this had all happened before. She halted in her tracks.

The mistake she'd made was preventable. She only had to lie. Or turn around and run back inside. She could feel the moisture from Tropica below and smell the fragrant flowers from the unsettled terras to the north.

"Did you need something?"

The sky knight's expression was one of slight worry.

_Lord_, his eyes were beautiful.

"Um, Aerrow…" she closed her- no. Her lips remained parted ever-so-slightly. No, this was _wrong_. "I've kind of been wondering about … something."

The words spilled out of her like an old, familiar song. Like a script being read from somewhere off-camera. And here came the part she always _hated_, that part she always covered her eyes for and looked away.

"Oh. Okay."

His smile filled her with horror as she writhed inside herself. This couldn't happen. Not again. She couldn't humiliate herself; she couldn't ruin the tranquility; she couldn't _lose_ him.

"What's up?"

The railing was like ice against her arm, and Piper screamed, but no sound came out. The shell encasing her didn't feel her terror. Only the slightest anxiety, just enough to make hands clammy and beautiful days seem too bright and too warm. Just stupid nerves and a creeping, advancing feeling of excitement. It actually thought he was going to reciprocate.

"NO!"

Piper sat up, her mouth agape. Her eyes came into focus.

Slowly she looked down at herself. The white shirt surprised her, and though she knew she should remember putting it on, she didn't. A blanket was draped over her lap. She was soaked in sweat and her heart drummed against her chest.

A crash made her jump. She looked around, eyes wide, and when another rumble sounded, she realized it was thunder. Relaxing, she unclenched her fists.

Now that she wasn't curled up, the navigator began to shiver. Looking around, she realized that the lights were out, save for two crystals that were only glowing dully. Grabbing her baggy sweater, she began to scrub herself with it. She could feel goosebumps rising on her arms and legs.

For a long while she sat, huddled in a ball. She let the blanket fall in a circle around her. She leaned against the wall next to the bathroom door where she'd slept and closed her eyes.

When sleep threatened to take her again, she leaned away from the wall and opened her eyes. She couldn't dream that again. Ever.

Cold, wet, and disoriented, Piper covered her face with her chocolate-colored fingers. Thunder growled again and she shivered. She loathed this prison more than ever before, and only wanted to be home.

But home meant facing Aerrow. Aerrow, who made her feel smart and funny, who was her best friend. And she had ruined it all.

"You're so _stupid_," she whispered to herself. Her voice broke on _stupid_ and as she slid her fingertips into her hair, tears dripped down her face.

At the moment, she didn't feel like a brilliant tactician. She felt pathetic. She pulled her knees up to her chest, trying to muffle a sob.

The room was cold and silent. Further away the thunder clapped again. Piper pulled her face from her palms and looked around.

He wasn't there.

Before she knew what she was doing she had dragged herself to her feet. The strong part of her told her not to think about that anymore. She just couldn't.

The child-part of her just wished he was there. He was everything. He was who she wanted. He would listen when she had nightmares, even if they were stupid and didn't make sense, and even if he was exhausted. He'd make her laugh and he'd remind her that at least she didn't dream about evil waffles like Finn did when he ate too much right before bed. Maybe he'd even hug her before leaving her room. And then she'd feel fine, just like she had when she was tiny and her home was still a house on Atmosia and her mom was tucking her back in instead of her sky knight.

Another crippling sob bent her over against the doorframe. Piper held her stomach as water plopped into the carpet from her cheeks, squeezing her eyes shut. She felt sick. Her knees were shaking.

Stumbling into the bathroom, she dropped onto the toilet. It was freezing, and she gasped, distracted for a second from tears. The crystals in the bathroom lamps had burned out entirely, and she had to feel her way over to the sink to wash her hands. It wasn't long before she realized that she'd have to get another bath. But she had no idea where her Storm Hawk uniform was, so she reluctantly trudged again to his closet.

Piper hated wearing his clothes. She couldn't stand him, and she felt hideously disgusting in his shirt. Her hands shook as she searched through the folded things, wondering what she could wear without making him angry. In this darkness, the patronizing host he acted like was only a mask. She could feel the evil hanging in the corners of his rooms.

Finding a red shirt and a pair of black shorts, she went back to the bathroom and started the water. For a minute, she shut the door before the pitch-blackness filled her with terror. She then yanked it open with a little cry. The low buzz of the half-dead sol crystals didn't give her any relief.

After a hasty bath, she felt a little better. The heat of the water lingered deep in her muscles, and the dry clothing was comforting to slip into. She felt completely alien, however. She stepped onto the expensive carpet of the bedroom in a Cyclonian's clothing and felt very…

Very _un-Piper_.

Looking down at her feet, the Storm Hawk sighed. Then sniffed. She didn't know what to do. Sneaking out of his quarters was out of the question. Her mind was moving sluggishly, and she ached all over from being curled into a ball. Furthermore, the nasty throb in her right temple was coming back with a vengeance.

The fridge was lit with a little electric bulb, and she squinted and shielded her eyes. Now her head was _really_ angry with her, and her appetite was waning steadily. She suddenly felt a spark of resentment toward that obnoxious little light, and she slammed the door with gusto, relishing the sound of jars rattling inside.

It seemed as if the weather was lightening when a roar of thunder made Piper jump. Her heart thumped rapidly inside her as she put a hand to it.

Running a hand through her hair, she sighed. She was tired and wanted to sleep until her headache ceased, but she didn't dare risk dreaming again.

A flash of light made her spin around. Pain exploded in her knee and she hissed, grabbing her leg. A muffled thud filled her ears and suddenly the world was cloudy.

"What - happened?" she asked the room, and the distorted sound of her voice terrified her.

Speckles of blue and violet and ugly orangeish-green flickered on and off in the dotted edges of her vision. _My ankle hurts_, she thought, and it dawned on her that the brightness had only been a flash of lightning.

_What a stupid thing to get scared about_, Piper mused, and the world evaporated in darkness.

-xXxXx-

Fuzzy feelings.

Thick, heavy sweeps at the edges of her consciousness.

A guttural vibrating. It was irritating.

Rattling and squeezing. _Squeezing, _at the sides - and something was pushing up beneath her-

"Wake _up_," the voice said, and the thick, syrupy strings of unconsciousness morphed into deep tendrils of pain.

The hands at her sides shook her again and Piper moaned.

"Thank Atmos," said the shadow above her.

The hurt went all the way through her, and a groan escaped her.

"Open your eyes," the throaty voice coaxed. A hand was in her hair and she winced- it _hurt_.

"A-Ae-"

_Aerrow?_

The voice was his, wasn't it? It _had_ to be…

"Open your eyes."

Consciousness was filling her and she could now smell him.

Deep, vivid red flooded her vision, broken up by strands of midnight-colored hair.

He stared down at her, holding her head with his long fingers. "What happened?"

Dazed, she blinked. It sent a shooting pain back from her eye. "…huh?"

"What happened?" There was urgency in his voice and his eyes were wide.

"Huh? I honestly can't remember…"

"Just relax," he murmured, and Piper realized she could feel his leg supporting the length of her back. He shifted and his knee dug in between her shoulder blades. She gasped in pain and he swallowed, almost looking afraid.

"I … I don't know what happened," she said, and the girl became amazed at such a frightening thought. "I m-must have fainted-"

"You did." He pressed his fingertips to the skin above her eye and blinding pain made her scream.

"Shhh," he said, holding the side of her face and pressing closer to her. "I'm sorry. I'm _sorry_."

"My head hurts," Piper rasped, and tears stung her eyes.

"Shhh. You're safe."

Gasping for breath, she clutched his arm. He wiped the tears from her face with his thumb. "Can you remember anything?"

"It … was storming," she drawled, and she squeezed her eyes shut as her head throbbed angrily. "Am I hurt? Oh _no_, how bad am I-"

"Calm down." The Cyclonian was looking at the part of her forehead that was hurting when she opened her eyes again. "You hit your head where it was already bruised. I think the blood trapped under your skin started coming out when you cut it on the edge of the counter."

The dark certainty settled into her mind that one feels when she learns something she needs to know that doesn't make you feel any better upon finding out.

"Do you think you can sit up?" She pushed slowly away from him, trying to sit on the floor, but he kept his hold on her shoulders. "Huh?"

"Y-yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Mmmhmm."

The navigator slid off the Cyclonian's lap and scooted back against the counter. He pushed her bangs out of her eyes, his gaze flickering rapidly over her face as she struggled to keep in control over the pain.

"I'm going to have to dress your wound," he murmured.

"I … the lightning startled me," she explained, head lowered and her wide eyes to the side of him.

The Dark Ace blinked, resting his hand on his knee. "That's why you fell?"

She nodded. The pain made her cringe.

The warrior returned to his brooding. Piper watched him miserably.

"Is it going to hurt?" She knew the answer, but she asked anyway. "I can't- handle any more right now."

"I have some things that might make it easier." He looked up at her, and for the first time she felt like he was really engaged with her. Under different circumstances it might have satisfied her. Now it scared her further.

"W-what?" The Storm Hawk crossed her arms over her stomach defensively as he rose and walked away. "If it's anything dangerous, I refuse to-"

"You're going to take what I tell you to."

He returned with an unmarked bottle and a handful of small, black objects. In the dim light Piper couldn't tell what they were.

His fingers uncurled as he held his hand out to her. Piper eyed the pills with apprehension and looked up at him. "What are they?"

"They're tablets made from a mixture of crystals. They block pain." A snide edge entered his tone. "They're perfectly legal."

The navigator frowned. "Then why haven't I seen them before?"

The humor left his eyes and she gulped. She took the tablets from his palm.

"Wash them down with this."

"What is _that?"_

Intolerant of her condescension, he strode back to the opposite side of the island and she could hear him pouring liquid. He returned and knelt in front of her, and he murmured, "Take those."

Trying not to look frightened, she tilted her hand and caught the suspicious pills on her tongue. He slid his fingers behind her head and his thumb under her jaw, tilting her head back and holding the glass of fluid to her mouth. She swallowed it as her fists clenched and her stomach churned and her mind screamed not to trust him. After two solid gulps he loosened his grip, holding the cup in front of her. She took it and stared at him. It burned her throat, but was oddly smooth and only slightly sweet. She knew the smell of wine, but had no idea whether this was alcoholic or not.

"Good." He smiled in approval and slid his fingers out of her hair. Shuddering, she drew back and commanded herself not to vomit everything up.

After a few moments, he returned and seated himself in front of her. "How are you feeling?"

"…"

She blinked, pulling in a deep breath. The room seemed to shudder as she exhaled.

"…strange," she finally responded.

"Hold still."

A puffy sensation made her lean back, reeling with surprise. A large square shrank as the Dark Ace pulled it away. "Hold _still_," he scolded, and he began to dab at her face once more.

Gradually, the dull, soft feeling became a dull, grainy ache. Piper winced as he grabbed her chin with one hand and kept cleaning her wound with the other.

"Try not to injure yourself anymore." She stared at him as he half-smiled. "I'm not licensed to set broken bones or perform heart surgery."

"Oh." She smiled weakly. "Okay."

The Dark Ace sniffed in amusement and swept the cloth over her head and down over her cheekbone.

"You're sweaty," he both observed and explained. She scrunched her face up as he wiped the rest of it with the clean side of the cloth.

Returning a second time, he pressed his hand to the good side of her head.

"What are you doing _now_?"

"I'm bandaging you up," he snapped.

Piper blinked. "Oh."

The navigator mused at the strangeness of being in such close proximity of him. He was only inches away from her face, his arms wrapped behind her head as he threaded the roll of gauze through her hair. She could smell his breath. If she blew, his long, black bangs would ruffle.

She'd never been this close to any of her squad mates. Ever.

Something dawned on her. "Hey," she muttered.

Pausing, he made eye contact.

"When you woke me up, I thought you were someone else."

Looking a bit surprised, he responded, "I did?"

"Yeah." She nodded and he hissed, grabbing the bandages to keep them from sliding off her wound. "When I was waking up I thought you were A-"

She stopped.

His eyes were on her, red and wide and shocked. He looked away quickly, pulling the bandages tight. Piper closed her mouth, squeezing her arms to her stomach. It was beginning to hurt.

Both of them knew who she'd almost mentioned.


	8. Hatred

07: Hatred

* * *

"Wake up!"

"What?" Finn sat up, rubbing his head and glaring. Junko pulled his thumb out of his mouth and yawned.

"We have to find Piper."

The marksman rolled his eyes. "Aerrow, look. She said she'd be back as soon as she found crystals and refueled."

"Exactly. And it doesn't take two days to do that."

"Maybe she couldn't find any crystals."

Radarr trotted down the hall and leapt onto the knight's shoulder. "In that case, we should go get her. And why hasn't she contacted us since then?"

"Hey," said Junko. "How come Piper's always the one who goes missing?"

Ignoring the wallop, the redhead continued. "The point is that we're going out to find her. You're coming with me."

The blonde scoffed. "I _always_ go with you!"

"Fine," Aerrow responded curtly. "Junko. You come with me. Finn, wake Stork up and have him plot the coordinates back to the site of the battle yesterday. I have a bad feeling that it isn't just taking her forever to get back."

"You mean Piper's in trouble?" Junko's eyes widened in horror and he sat up.

"I hope not." Aerrow turned and strode back down the hall to the hangar, glancing at Radarr. "But we're going to find out."

-xXxXx-

Piper ran her hand over the sheets, amazed at how soft they were. He slid his arms out from under her, watching down on her for a long moment. She dragged her head up to see why he was staring and he looked away. She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. He walked away and somehow she felt too tired to follow him even with her eyes. She let her gaze drop back to her fingers spread on the blankets.

It was amazing, how strange she felt. She was immensely relieved that the pain was gone, and couldn't remember how long it had been since she'd been so … not exactly at ease.

So _unguarded_.

Weight made the sheets rustle and Piper looked up.

The Cyclonian exhaled as he folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. The mask of arrogance didn't seem to be on his features, but Piper didn't trust her inhibited mind to depict the truth.

"You look exhausted," she observed cautiously.

He gave her a sidelong glance. He nodded.

"Being second in command is hard work."

Eyes half-glazed with fatigue, Piper closed her eyes. She was quiet for a long moment. "I don't understand."

When she opened them he was watching her. She elaborated.

"I don't see why you'd want to be a Cyclonian."

Grinning, he closed his eyes. "Power, wealth, adoration… you'll understand when you're older."

Through her foggy mind came a fierce stab of anger. Face becoming a frown, she said, "Why do you want to destroy the world? Why would you choose to be that cruel?"

He ignored her.

"_Why?_" she demanded. Her head throbbed dully.

With a coldness that alarmed her, he murmured, "This world cares nothing for me. I care nothing for it."

"How can you punish innocent people for what happened to you?"

A laugh rumbled up from deep in his chest. " Are you really that naïve? There's no such thing as an innocent person."

"That's not true! There are babies and children and little birds and elderly people. Atmos is _filled_ with innocence and beauty. And you'd _destroy_ all that?"

"You're a fool." His smile had disappeared.

The girl bristled and sat up, eyes blazing. "No I'm-"

"The world is _nothing_ but cruelty and pain. And death and loss and anger and hurt. It's common sense to be on the side that will inevitably win."

"_Inevitably?_ You're Master Cyclonis's right hand. If you walked away, she'd have nothing!"

He sat up, nearly snarling. "I would _never_ walk away."

Piper scoffed. "Why not? I doubt she feels any loyalty to _you_."

"You little-" fighting to regain his composure, he let out a short breath and closed his eyes for a second. "Master Cyclonis is leading an empire. She has better things to do than create weaknesses for herself."

"Since when has friendship been a _weakness?"_

"Since _forever," _he shouted over her. "You look up to your sky knight, and look where _that_ got you!" When she only blinked at him, he sneered, "I don't see him coming to your rescue."

Her eyes narrowed and she hissed, "You don't know anything about Aerrow."

"I know that he's overly-confident, stubborn, and overflowing with courage. It's disgusting."

"But-" she stopped abruptly. Her eyes dropped and she wrapped her hand around her opposite arm.

Gaze narrowing, he sneered, "But _what?"_

Piper looked up. "But that's … how you are."

Disgust dripped from his words. "I _hate_ Aerrow."

He leaned against the pillows, rolling away from her. The girl clenched her fists, ignoring the stubborn way her temple throbbed. Had he still been looking, he would've seen tears in her eyes.

"Does that mean you hate yourself too?"


	9. Nightmare

08: Nightmare

* * *

His palm was blessedly warm against her face, and her skin ached so hard against it that she found her lips parting and a small sound of exhausted relief escaping them.

_Oh, Aerrow._

She didn't dare say it, because if she did, the wrongness of words spoken so deep from the heart would rip through the fabric of this fragile, beautiful moment; rip her straight out of the safety of sleep and back into cold, hard reality.

And though some part of her knew it wasn't real, the tears that slid over her eyes felt more authentic than any she'd ever shed. Warm and wet and somehow shimmery against her dark cheeks. But, the ache. Oh, the ache. It was a pain that throbbed through her, intense and needle-like in her veins and worst her heart. It threaded down so deep that it tore a sob from her. One that was dry and terrifying; the cry of a mourner.

And Aerrow said nothing.

Maybe he was confused by her dismay.

Maybe he was annoyed by her weakness.

_Sky knights and squadron members can't engage in intimate relationships._

The hand on her cheek was still there, though. So big, like each finger was a mile long, and so strong, like ancient, unfaltering oaks. The relief from his touch was overwhelming, so overwhelming it hurt. It was impossible. It could never happen. And it was all she'd ever wanted.

Blurry.

A higher state of awareness.

Awake?

Hand. Aerrow's hand. As unbelievable as it was, it … felt like it was still there…

Piper opened her eyes.

It was.

He watched her, eyes gleaming softly in the dim light.

Silence.

Sharp breaths. Her sharp breaths. Slowing as her grief dissipated into … into…

Into what?

His stare was calm and didn't question her. Maybe it was because he already understood.

And when she wanted to say his name, to plead for comfort, Piper realized she didn't know what to call him.

Despite the immortal look of control on his features, something was different. Almost a…

A gleam…

Of _something_. Maybe sympathy. Maybe malevolence.

But something.

His thumb brushed over her skin, warm olive on milk chocolate.

And he spoke, in a voice almost edged with compassion.

"Aerrow isn't here."


	10. The Search

09: The Search

* * *

"_Piper?"_

_Taking a deep breath, she gingerly applied heat to the stone. Slowly the muddy brown of the unrefined structure began to lighten into a radiant orangey-pink. Smiling, she continued. She hadn't seen a reaction so strong in months._

"_Hey! PIPER!"_

_Slamming her tools down, the girl whipped around._

"_Finn, I told you to read a book so you'd _stop_ annoying me."_

"_I was just asking a question! Jeez!" She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. He wiggled around in his seat on the table. "What's a kataleest?"_

_Piper's brow creased. "You mean a catalyst?"_

_The sharpshooter blinked. "Oh. Uh, yeah."_

"_In the context of crystology, it's a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without undergoing any change itself."_

"_Ohhhh. I got it." He gave a thumbs up and began squinting again at the pages._

"_You have no idea what I just said, do you?"_

_Without looking up he shook his head. "Nope."_

_Thinking for a moment, the girl crossed her arms. "There _is_ another meaning you might understand."_

_The blonde perked up. "Okay! Take two." He cleared his throat. "What is a catalyst?"_

_The navigator smirked, holding back a laugh. "A catalyst is the object or event that makes things begin to happen. When all the elements are set for a huge event or a chain reaction, a catalyst is the thing that sets it off."_

_The marksman blinked his big eyes, thinking. "It sounds disastrous."_

_Straightening her goggles, the dark-skinned girl peered once more into her microscope. She shrugged. "It could be."_

_Finn watched her for a long moment before returning to his book. He turned the page and skipped to the next chapter, though he had a feeling that would be just as boring._

"Finn!"

"Wha-HUF!"

The sharpshooter rolled off of the couch and hit the floor on his stomach. Stork jumped, then scowled with embarrassment. Junko stared.

"Finn!" Aerrow knelt down, staring at the blonde sprawled out under the table.

"What?" The sharpshooter glared.

"Come on, man. I need everybody at the ready."

"Ready for what? Do we even have a plan?"

"We're on Terra Saharr. We need to gather everything we don't need."

Sitting up, Finn bumped his head and yelped. Putting a hand in his hair, he mumbled, "For what?"

"We're gonna trade everything unnecessary for fuel crystals."

"Don't we have some?" The kid crawled out from under the table, standing up and still rubbing his head.

Junko hurried by with a pile of teddy bears. A hint of annoyance entered the redhead's voice. "Uh, _yeah_, but we don't exactly have anybody who knows how to refine them."

"Oh."

Aerrow hoisted a box of odds and ends off of the floor, stumbling toward the doorway. A poster fluttered out and Radarr skittered over, grabbing it and following his friend. He climbed onto the sky knight's shoulders and dropped the paper back into the box.

"Stork-" the merb looked over his shoulder. "Plot a course back to the site of the battle. We have to see if she's still there somewhere."

"I'll do my best," the pilot uttered, and Junko ran between them with another armload of stuffed animals.

The sharpshooter sighed, his eyes falling to the floor as he thought about his dream. It was an odd memory to suddenly have relived. Shaking his head to clear it, he turned to the pile of boxes of the floor. He found the lightest looking one and began dragging it toward the door.

-xXxXx-

The hours crawled by.

Sleep made itself fickle. It folded its wings around her consciousness and pulled her inside. Inside her mind, where pain bulged in her thoughts, its ugly, greenish veins throbbing until soon she could feel herself surfacing again into awakeness.

And in awakeness she could barely breathe. For some reason the same phrase kept running through her mind.

_Compared to all of existence, we've only known each other for a fraction of a-_

Its tinny echo rattled around in her head as she tried miserably to will herself back to sleep. Away from the inescapable agony, if only for a few short minutes.

He wasn't in the bed with her - at least, she thought he wasn't. Everything was all blurry - the crystals had either burned out or had been removed from the lamps.

There was a coppery taste in her mouth. Every time the pain swelled her mouth watered even more.

She couldn't tell what time it was. She was too hot, and she kept sweating and sweating…

_Compared to all of existence…_

_Compared to all of existence…_

_Enough already!_

If only she was in her own bed. In her room with her belongings, with the familiar smells and with _them_.

They would be at her side. They would know what to do. They would keep her company. Finn would do his horrid impression of Ravess and Junko would try to cook, and Radarr would sleep next to her if Ae-

If _he_ was away.

But no. She was here. In this

(THE DARK ACE'S)

bed, a freak good citizen deep within the bowels of this prison called Cyclonia. In so much pain that she was wet with sweat and her mouth tasted like copper pipes.

_Compared to all of existence, we've only known each other for a fraction of a…_

Just great, she thought as her ears began a horrible ringing. She let out a moan of misery as she slid her hand under the pillow to better cushion the good side of her face.

Things would get better when he got back, she told herself. _Convinced_ herself.

If he wasn't already lying beside her.

-xXxXx-

The muffled sound of someone sitting down next to her didn't register in Piper's brain until a few moments after it had happened. She was being poked and prodded, and in the middle of a strange, half-asleep train of thought pertaining to how to alphabetize crystals, it occurred to her that the lump of pressure on her neck was someone taking her pulse.

The next thing she knew, she was being propped up with icy air whooshing around her. Her elbows and knees were stiff, and suddenly a bright light made her shield her eyes.

"Here," she thought she heard someone say. There were round capsules in her mouth and a glass was in her hands, and the liquid was strong and made her have to sneeze.

"ATCHOO!"

Piper opened her eyes to see a very startled - and very annoyed - Dark Ace sitting beside her.

"Uh… heh heh," she chuckled nervously. "Sorry."

"Warn me next time," he uttered flatly.

Head buzzing angrily, the girl blinked, trying to re-orient herself. The Dark Ace was in his armor, and it looked like he'd been in some sort of battle. Deep scratches broke up the gleam of his armor and a few scraps of fabric had actually been torn away. She pulled the covers up around herself and looked at him, exhausted.

"I would've returned sooner," he said, voice powerful as ever yet almost apologetic. "but something came up."

"Are…" she swallowed. Her throat burned from the liquid. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine." He was staring at the floor as he said it. Looking back at the navigator, he raised an eyebrow questioningly. "How's your head?"

Piper rested her chin on her knees. "It hurts."

A moment passed in uncomfortable silence.

"Those pills will help," he finally responded. "Maybe you should eat something."

"What… what time is it?"

"Evening."

Groggily she scratched the back of her head. The tight bandages were irritating. It dawned on her in with a dull spark of concern that she had no idea how long she'd been in Cyclonia. Two days? A few more? Possibly a week?

He hoisted himself to his feet, and she watched him. His stride was slow, and he bobbed minutely with every other step - she realized that he was trying not to limp. There was a huge hole in the back of his uniform, and as he passed under one of the lamps, she could see an ugly gash that was only just beginning to scab at the edges.

Now beginning to wake up, she gulped and worked up the nerve to speak. "What happened?"

"A battle," he replied flatly. He was washing some kind of fruit in the sink.

Suddenly it dawned on her that only a few people would be able to wound him so severely. "Was it-"

"No."

She wrapped her arms around her knees, pulling the sheets tight around her.

Where _were_ they?

Trying to piece it together, Piper again rubbed at the bandages that were smashing her moonlight-hued hair. Her head throbbed faintly, letting her breathe a sigh of relief. Whatever it was, the medication was working.

She had been here one day. Two days.

How many times had she woken up?

Two. No, at least four. Five… six…

But she hadn't been sleeping only at night. So that didn't help at all.

Her eyes wandered absentmindedly over his glowing plates of armor and the strips of green and dull red fabric. Where his dusky skin showed through he was covered in glistening sweat or streaked with what looked like deep cuts. He had a peeler and was trying to take the skin off of an apple. His hands were shaking.

Her stomach felt like it was melting in on itself. She knew it hadn't been the Storm Hawks. There was no way they could inflict those injuries on such a skilled fighter.

How could they _not_ be trying to rescue her?

Maybe they didn't even know where to start. Had they even seen what had happened to her? Or… what if…

_Compared to all of existence, we've only known each other for a fraction of a…_

Pulling in a deep breath, she put her hands over her eyes. She couldn't think about it any more. She just _couldn't_.

"What's the matter?"

Startled, she peered up between her fingers to see him watching her. His striking eyes looked a way she didn't think they could look.

Worried.

The stoic part of Piper told her to keep her mouth shut. But as she sat, cold, lonely, and afraid, that part of Piper was becoming very small.

She tried to breathe deeply. The air protested, coming in in ragged lumps. Her eyes heated as her chest tightened up, and it surprised her when lukewarm water ran down her cheeks, her neck, and her wrists, and a hard lump formed in her throat.

With a shuddery laugh, she answered, "Everything."

It was completely logical for him to leave her there, crumpled and sobbing, uncaring. She expected nothing less.

So when he placed a hand on her shoulder, she jumped, looking up in shock.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

She stared up at him through amazed, disbelieving, frightened eyes.

Her slender fingers went around his wrist in defense. No trust filled the space in between them. His weight slid onto the bed like a shadow and his graceful hand cupped her face while she swallowed nervously.

"Don't cry."

His eyes were swimming with an emotion Piper couldn't name.

He brushed his thumb over her cheekbone, wiping away the streak of moisture. She wanted to pull away but didn't.

There was a bare spot on his wrist where his glove had been shredded. She considered letting go of his arm in case she was hurting him, but didn't. She needed at least the illusion of having control.

How could she believe him, anything about him? How could she jeopardize herself by showing such weakness?

He gingerly ran his thumb back over her cheek and lifted her chin, bringing her eyes to his. His face was terrifyingly controlled. How could he be so strong when the world was crumbling?

"I'm scared," she admitted. A sob tore through her throat and more tears slid down her face.

_Compared to all of existence…_

It hurt.

The humiliation of it.

Maybe they didn't _want_ her back. Could it be possible?

She had been wrong … about Aerrow. About the two of them.

Had she been right about anything?

Surely it wasn't possible. They loved her. They were her best friends.

…weren't they?

The little navigator gasped in horror, and her lungs felt like they were tearing apart.

"Come here," he murmured. He pulled her against him, encircling her with his arms. She closed her eyes and sobbed, letting go of her knees and gripping his shirt. "Shhh," she heard him whisper, his breath warm on her forehead.

Her life was collapsing. Breaking like glass, shattering into a billion pieces so small they could never be put back together. Every pillar seemed to crack; every light strung in her heart seemed to shiver and flicker out - leaving nothing behind but a pair of radiantly beautiful dusky green eyes that coldly watched through the dark shadows of her mind.

It was over. And it was all her fault.

He stroked her hair, smoothing it over her shoulders as she wept against him.

And then he pulled back and leaned down until his eyes were leveled with hers. Greif-stricken gold met unreadable, bloodstained crimson, and Piper could feel something great and ominous shifting.

His nose brushed her forehead and she clenched her eyes shut. He exhaled slowly as his fingers ran over the back of her scalp, then gingerly over her bandages. His chapped lips barely skirted her skin as he breathed. He kissed her forehead in a movement so delicate that it hardly startled her.

"Don't cry," he again whispered into her hair.

Piper pushed her face against the Dark Ace's chest, hiccuping as the water on her nose smeared into his shirt. She felt filthy and disgusting and pathetic. He pulled his wrist from her grip, eclipsing her in his arms.

And as absurd as it was, the little navigator felt safer with his slender fingers spread across her shoulder blades and his chin rested on the crown of her hair.

Closing her eyes and folding herself into the warm, dark space before him, she shuddered. His armor was cold and hard and she could feel scabs and sweat. She choked a sob back and his mouth pressed gingerly to her dark skin.

Silence hung in the stillness of the air. The lightning flickered quietly and not one fixture dared creak. There was only the dull glow of the crystals and the watchfulness of the shadows, and a little Storm Hawk curled up in the talon commander's lap.

* * *

Tell me what you think. :)


	11. Insomnia

10: Insomnia

* * *

The thunder growled softly and Piper opened her eyes.

The room was dark, save for the reddish glow of one crystal left in the sconce by the door. Something about the silence told her it was night.

When he exhaled heavily, her attention was drawn to him.

His side rose with his breathing, outlined in shifting strips of burnt orange. The slender, dusky shape of his torso was broken up by a thick white streak of bandages. Though she wasn't sure, as she squinted groggily Piper thought she could see specks of blood that had come through. Square pieces of gauze were taped to the side of his neck, the skin just below his elbow, and his chest just over his heart. The hand that draped off of his hip was bandaged tightly.

The rhythmic breathing halted and he bent one leg, rolling onto his back. A sharp grunt escaped and he sat up suddenly, hissing through his teeth. He pressed his fingers to his shoulder blade, grimacing as he tried to turn his neck far enough to see. There was a nearly inaudible snap and a thread of blood slid from beneath the bandage on his neck.

"Don't!"

Startled, he jolted and glared at her. Piper scrambled out from underneath the covers and knelt beside him. He made a strangled sound of agony as she applied pressure to the gauze patch with her thumb.

"You reopened this," she said hoarsely, only just then awake.

"I'm aware." His words were half growled between his clenched teeth.

"How close is the wound to your artery?"

"To the right," he replied. "But my artery's not cut."

Relieved, the navigator sat back. Her wide eyes flicked from his face to the trickle of red that was crawling down his shoulder. She climbed off the bed and hurried to the bathroom, ignoring the freezing floor slamming against her feet. He watched her reemerge with a tissue. He grabbed for it when she was seated in front of him, but she held it away, muttering "no" as if almost to herself, and leaned forward to wipe the blood off.

Unaware of his surprised stare on her, she gingerly cleaned his neck. The child before him was now Piper the Medic, and she was practiced enough to put aside preconceived notions in the presence of injury.

Leaning back, the girl blinked up at him. Her senses were about her now and the cold air was coaxing goosebumps up from her skin. "Are you okay?"

Now his startled stare became apparent to her. "Are you?"

Swallowing, she hesitated a moment before nodding.

The Cyclonian shifted, leaning back on his elbows. He let off a strangled breath when sharp pain stabbed through his abdomen. "You should go back to sleep," he said after a moment.

Raising an eyebrow, she dared to say, "And let you bleed to death?"

He closed his eyes. "I'm fine."

Silence seeped in between them as the Storm Hawk watched the warrior. His neck hadn't bled any more. She stretched the tissue out in her dark palms and began folding it neatly into squares.

"How's your head?"

Head popping up, Piper thought for a moment. "Uh, it's okay. The pills really helped."

"I would've gotten here earlier." He paused. "But something came up."

Swallowing, she looked at him.

_Remember,_ a small voice echoed in her head. _Gain his trust._

She steeled herself apprehensively. It took a long moment of gathering courage for her to call him by name. "Dark Ace?"

His eyes flashed open and turned on her.

"Can I … get you anything?"

He raised an eyebrow incredulously. He drew in a long breath, thinking. "I'd like a glass of wine. It's the green bottle in the fridge."

Piper opened the door, peering inside. The thin-necked bottle was hiding behind a bowl of something that looked a bit past its expiration date. She set it on the island and hurried to the cupboard of decorative glasses.

She returned with an expensive looking glass she'd filled slightly less than halfway. Rationality had told her not even to try guessing what was normal. She hadn't been around wine since her parents were alive. That was eleven years ago.

He pushed himself into a sitting position again as she carefully handed him his drink. With a flicker of a smile, he said softly, "Where's yours?"

"I'm fourteen," she replied flatly.

"Really? You look twelve."

Surprised and offended, Piper scoffed at him. He grinned maniacally.

She sat down on her side of the bed as he sipped his wine. His fingers gracefully cupped the base of the glass and the neck protruded between his middle and ring fingers. Though it didn't exactly surprise her, she was fascinated by how graceful he could be. After all, she had only ever seen him only swinging a sword before, she reasoned to herself.

His long eyelashes fell over his gaze for a long moment. Finally he opened them again and cast a sideways glance in his enemy's direction. "I take it you're not going back to sleep either."

Crossing her legs and drawing her arms around herself as if it would protect her, she admitted, "I always sleep well after I cry. But I've-" she swallowed. "-been having nightmares lately."

"I noticed," he murmured. She peeked to find his reddish stare on her and her eyes snapped back down to the sheets. She was mildly relieved when he kept talking. "Do you think it has something to do with your head trauma?"

"It could," she replied distractedly. She looked at the bandages around his stomach. She had been nestled against that body a few hours before…

Snapping herself out of her reverie, she ran her hand through her hair and smoothed her own bandages. He stared at her quizzically for a second, then finished his glass in three long swallows.

"Mind getting me a little more?"

"Not at all," she said numbly. His fingers touched hers when he handed her the glass and a flood of nervous energy surged through her stomach. Silently she prayed this wouldn't become a fixation of hers. She didn't have the time or energy to be afraid of physical contact.

This time when she handed him the glass, he took it by its slender neck, hand missing hers by at least an inch. She bristled, wondering if he'd picked up on her worry. Hopefully he hadn't.

"How often to you read?"

Caught off guard, she blinked rapidly. She climbed back into the little divot she'd created in the covers. "Uh- I read almost every day. If I have time."

Swirling the liquid inside its circular prison, he spoke again. "Have you ever read the theories of creation?"

"Some of them," she answered honestly.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" He looked up at her, face for once seeming neutral rather than resentful. "So many different ideas about how everything started."

"Yeah," Piper finally said, staring into the distance. "It is."

"Have you heard of the Altrerian theory?"

When he gazed at her, she shook her head and blinked.

Sniffing, he looked back at his glass. "It's incredible." She cocked her head involuntarily, curious. "There are a few historians who believe that there was a race of humans before us that lived in the Wastelands."

"The Wastelands?"

He chuckled and nodded at her. She didn't know it was because of her wildly eager expression.

"Long ago there was no lava and no monstrous creatures. They say that the surface was solid like the plateaus we now inhabit."

"No lava? But … _how?"_

"That's how our planet was formed," he said, tipping his glass as he gestured. "Supposedly from below you could see so far that the stars shone down at night."

"From the Wastelands? Er- the surface?" He smiled and nodded.

"They lived peacefully for tens of thousands of years. But the researchers believe that the weaponry became so powerful that the kingdoms destroyed each other in battle." His eyes narrowed. "And the planet."

He took a sip of the red liquid as the girl sat back in amazement.

"The ground that covered the planet was destroyed, and creatures mutated into monsters. They even say that all non-human races were born from animals."

"You mean like the Raptors and the Absolute Zeroes? They evolved from _animals?"_

He nodded.

"Then people migrated as high as they could. Mountains. The toxic gases let off by the warfare settled into the permanent clouds that exist now. As the poison rained down onto the surface, the life there changed into fierce creatures. And man restarted in the only place it hadn't been able to destroy. The sky."

"Wow."

Piper stared in wide-eyed amazement as he swallowed another mouthful of wine.

"Interesting, isn't it?"

"Yeah," she murmured.

"I'd like to believe it," he said. "Little houses down in an endless field of grass and trees…"

"That's just-" she thought for a minute. "Fantastic."

Gradually the girl noticed him watching her. Though it didn't seem without weight, a small smile had curved onto his lips. Almost shyly, she began to smile too.

The warrior lengthened his slender arm until it closed the gap between them, raising his eyebrows expectantly. Piper took the cup, staring at the tiny pool of liquid in the bottom.

"That amount won't hurt you," he said reassuringly. Without looking up at him, she tipped the glass with both hands and let the fluid dribble between her lips. It was tart - it burned and tingled over every centimeter of her mouth. Blinking in surprise, she set the glass in her lap and swallowed.

The Dark Ace smiled. "Not what you expected?"

"No," she responded, eyes big. He chuckled again, and the sound reverberated richly through his chest. She pursed her lips and watched him quietly.

"Here." He held his hand out and she passed the glass to him. His cool fingers slid onto hers as he took it. Her hand quivered and she tucked it into her lap and she tried inconspicuously to squirm the goosebumps off of her back. "Are you going to be all right?"

He set the glass on the table by his pillow, then looked back at her.

"I think so." He blinked, smiling with his powerful eyes, and she stared back in discomfort.

"Well, then, Storm Hawk…"

Maneuvering carefully until he could lean his uninjured elbow on one knee, he fixed her in a hypnotic gaze. He smirked and her blood was filled with tiny pieces of ice.

"What would you like to talk about?"


	12. The Trade

**A/N:** My mom had surgery on Friday, and I've been babysitting her to make sure she doesn't go doing things she shouldn't yet. I would've updated sooner otherwise! It's like watching a five-year-old, though... o.0

Oh, and by the by, I have eyeballs and an e-mail account. I KNOW ABOUT ALL YOU SNEAKY WEASELS WHO AREN'T REVIEWING. I would really like your advice and input. Furthermore, your opinion could affect the outcome of the story. I write this for you, after all.

Ta-ta!

* * *

11: The Trade

* * *

The door swung open and a mop of messy brown hair poked out. "WHAT?"

"Ah-" Aerrow stepped back, caught off-guard. "Uh, hi. I'm Aerrow."

"It's two in the morning, Aerrow. Get off my doorstep."

"Wait!" He grabbed the door before it could swing shut, peeking through the crack with half a green eye. "Please. I need your help."

"At two in the morning? Should I be filing a restraining order?"

"Uh- no! No! It's nothing like that!"

The girl glared at him. The door gave a little and he pulled it back open.

"You've got fifteen seconds."

"You run the trading post a few blocks down, right?"

"My dad does. Thirteen."

"Our friend is missing and our ship's out of fuel. We'll trade you anything for crystals."

"Ten. Why should I help you when you woke me up?"

"Because-" taking a deep breath, the redhead attempted to calm down. He spoke again in a much cooler voice. "Because she's been missing for days now and we haven't seen her since a fight with Cyclonians. She means a lot to m- to us."

She sighed, scowl remaining in place.

"_Please_."

The brunette rolled her eyes, uncrossing her arms and tightening the sash of her bathrobe. "You're lucky you're cute. Let me get my shoes on."

Junko and Finn whooped in delight, high-fiving as Stork flinched from his spot a few paces away.

The curtain whooshed as she pulled it back, trudging into the tent and stepping behind the counter. Finn heaved a small box inside, grunting, and Junko carried two large boxes as he blinked excitedly. Stork was dragging a box a size smaller than Finn's, and once he got it inside, he collapsed in a heap, panting. Radarr put his paws on the edge and sniffed the pipes inside. Aerrow hurried up to the counter and opened his mouth.

"Welcome to the Brunswing Family Trading Post," the girl interrupted in a monotone voice, "your best source for fair deals and friendly service. My name is Aria. May I be of assistance, sir?"

Shaking his head to get the incredulous expression off of it, Aerrow turned and gestured to his squad mates. They pushed their boxes to the counter where Junko picked them up and plopped them side by side in a row.

"We're willing to trade anything. We need as many refined fuel crystals as you have."

Aria put her elbow on the counter and smashed the side of her face into her hand. "And what does 'anything' consist of?"

"We have cool posters," Junko chimed in, unrolling a piece of paper with Harrier drawn on it in a heroic pose.

"And nuts and bolts and washers," Aerrow added.

"Every kid of wrench, screwdriver, and soldering iron ever invented," Stork followed.

"And all kinds of other cool stuff!" Finn finished, holding up a handful of his belongings.

The girl raised an eyebrow at Finn. "What is that?"

Blinking, the sharpshooter looked at his hands to see what she was referring to. "Uh… a holey sock?" He chuckled sheepishly.

With a groan, she stood up. "Let me see what I've got."

Junko and Finn cheered again, and Aerrow wiped a gloved hand over his sweaty brow with a sigh of relief.

"Hey!" cried Finn. "I've got an idea."

"What is it?" Aerrow whipped around, his expression a hopeful one.

"Now we can have a FINDING PIPER PARTY!"

Junko screamed in excitement, hopping up and down as Aerrow smacked his palm to his face and Stork glared in disgust. The brunette gawked as she set a box of crystals down on the counter.

The merb leaned over the boxes, aiming a thumb over his shoulder at the blonde. "What will you trade for him?"

Aria eyed him for a moment, then held up the holey sock. She smiled smugly as the carrier pilot made a sound of exasperation.

"Thank you so much," Aerrow said, dragging the heavy box of fuel crystals off the counter. "Uh, sorry again for waking you up."

"Just get Wonder Boy out of here." The girl cocked her head toward a giggling Finn as she spoke.

"Let's go, guys." Aerrow handed the box to Junko, who charged outside with Finn at his heels. Radarr climbed onto Aerrow's shoulders and the knight and the carrier pilot hurried out.

Shaking her head, Aria rolled her eyes. She peered into one of the boxes and pulled a pillow and a blanket out of it. Yawning, she trudged toward the back room.

The posters in the biggest box shifted, then one of them rolled out and fell onto the floor. A pale feathery head emerged from underneath them and its two wide eyes flickered to and fro. The chicken floundered its way out of the box and looked around in extreme interest. A bug buzzed past it, catching its attention. With a cluck she hurried after it, tumbling off the counter and onto the ground. The snoring of the shopkeeper's daughter boomed into the room, and the fowl squawked in alarm. She waddled toward the tent's entrance and the sound of the Condor's engines rumbled distantly as it departed from Terra Saharr.

-xXxXx-

Wobbling back to the bed with as much dignity as she could muster, the petite navigator of the Storm Hawks pulled herself back onto the bed. She leaned against the pillows and attempted to ignore the pair of mocking red eyes that had watched her every step.

"Did you have fun?"

His voice was disgustingly sweet.

"I don't need help getting to the bathroom," she muttered. "I hurt my head, I didn't break my ribs."

"Only a matter of time." She took a deep breath to keep the scowl off of her face.

"_You're_ injured more than _I_ am," she said accusingly in her you-know-I'm-right voice.

"And I can tolerate much more pain," he retorted coolly.

"So what's on your schedule today?" She look at him casually as she crossed her legs. "Kidnapping a few innocent children? Helping pull some captive's toenails off because he won't cooperate with your interrogators? Pushing an old lady's wheelchair off the edge of a terra?"

Sniffing, he said, "Actually, that's on Wednesdays. I have today off."

Outwitted, Piper rolled her eyes.

"And what would _you_ be doing today? Lecturing your childish counterparts? Cleaning up after them?"

"Psssh." He raised an eyebrow. Her offense came to a halt and she looked down when she realized he was right.

"See? I know more about you than you think." He leaned back, carefully resting his black mop of hair against the headboard and closing his eyes.

"Oh _really?_ Then what do we do every weekend?" she demanded.

He ignored her.

"How do we punish Finn when he uses someone else's toothbrush because he's always losing his?"

He still ignored her.

"What's Aerrow's favorite color?"

He grinned. "Pink."

"_No_." He chuckled and she shook her head in disbelief.

Finally the Cyclonian turned his eyes on her. "What's _your_ favorite color?"

"Yellow."

"What's your favorite season?"

"Spring," she replied curtly.

"What's your favorite activity?"

"Organizing." When his features twisted and he snickered, she exclaimed, "What's wrong with that?"

Without opening his eyes, he simply replied, "It's ridiculously boring."

"Fine then," Piper snapped. She crossed her arms. "What's your favorite activity?"

"Pushing old women in wheelchairs off the edge of a terra, of course."

Tugging her big red t-shirt so it wasn't bunching up around her neck, she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. "Who do you care about the most?"

It surprised her when a witty response didn't come. She observed him for a long moment as he sat motionless. Finally his blood-colored eyes opened.

"That's an interesting question."

The warrior fixed his penetrating stare on her and she quickly met it. She swallowed against her legs.

"Who do _you_ care about the most?"

A sickening ache filled her stomach as she held his gaze, wishing it was somehow escapable. She blinked and looked away.

"I love them all equally," she responded.

His dissatisfaction was palpable as he considered this.

"And do they love you?"

Her throat was dry. Piper swallowed again.

"I shouldn't have asked that."

"No," said she. "It's a relevant question."

"Is it an easy question?"

His brooding eyes flickered as his eyelashes batted over them. "Of course," she answered.

Dark Ace gazed at her for a long moment, and she wondered if he could smell the lie in her words.


	13. Nuisance

12: Nuisance

* * *

She pretended to be asleep until he strode into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. She wasn't in the mood for his mocking stare and his sharp words.

His weight had shifted off of the bed behind her and he pulled the covers back up to hold in the warmth. She appreciated that, though it did more to bewilder her.

How could he be so compassionate?

Why _would_ he be so compassionate?

Climbing out from under the covers, Piper stretched until her arms and legs shuddered with the force. Her back cracked. Her head only throbbed dully. She felt as close to normal as she could remember ever feeling.

She walked around. Inspected his chambers. There were crumbs on the counters and on the floor and stains on the glossy surface of the sink. The air felt _stale_ somehow, and his armor was strewn across the carpet. Locating a bowl of ripe-looking berries in the refrigerator, she pulled out a handful and popped through their tough skins with her back teeth one by one.

His bed made a _fwhmp_ sound as she fell onto it.

What motive? What could possibly compel him to treat her like any more than a bratty nuisance?

She folded her hands behind her mop of disheveled, night-colored hair and breathed in the musky smell of a treacherous coward: a combination of nutmeg and sweat and expensive cologne. She stuck her legs up in the air and crossed her ankles idly. Her eyes closed and she was soon lost to thought.

She simply couldn't understand it.

She didn't comprehend the magnitude of her importance. Though in a crowd of busty, Tropican women she wouldn't have stood out, the playing field of this game was vastly different. She was Piper. She was Aerrow's second-in-command. She was brilliant and clever and the maturity of the group.

She was Piper, the noble, hard-headed, golden-eyed navigator. She was Piper the Sister, Piper the Mother. She was lively and fierce and willowy and slender, caught in that fragile moment between girl and woman. And when you saw her at the right moment while she was hunched over her table in the lab, her hair in her face and the dim glow of the lamp in her eyes, she was breathtakingly beautiful.

Piper sighed and uncrossed her ankles, pointing her toes toward the intricate swirls of black and gold that wound luxuriously across the ceiling. Unaware of just how powerful a weapon she was.

_Some exercise might help me think,_ she decided after winding her mind around her five-step plan for a few useless minutes.

She yawned, closed her eyes, and climbed off the bed.

-xXxXx-

Panting, Piper stopped. She slid out of her stance, rising to her full height and closing her eyes before sweat could drip into them. For a moment, she put her hands on her hips, catching her breath. But she hadn't finished the standard workout and had only been through roughly, she calculated, a third of the forms of the art. Looking around, she made her decision.

Pulling the bottom drawer open on the Dark Ace's armoire, she found nothing of use. She closed it quickly and looked in the second. Here she found his underwear. Swallowing and blinking quickly to counter the rise of awkward embarrassment inside her, she picked up the top pair of boxer shorts. They were, not surprisingly, red. She extracted them, pulled open the next drawer, and found the sleeveless shirts she was hoping she'd be able to locate.

Steeling herself for his untimely return, she took the bundle of fabric and squatted on the side of the bed not visible from the bathroom's entrance.

Emerging a moment later, the Storm Hawk navigator and tactician peered around cautiously, tugging at the boxers. She'd rolled down the waist as well as folding the legs up to keep them out of the way, and his shirt had been large enough to gather up the extra fabric and knot it. She felt horridly exposed.

"Focus," she murmured to herself. "You're going to finish this."

Pacing back to the spot she'd occupied before, she bent her knees and shifted her center of gravity, exhaling sharply as she extended her left arm and locked the right to her side, fist balled.

Time ticked by as Piper moved through every step of the routine she'd memorized, her willowy figure bending, twisting, and lengthening in sharp movements as she tried to repress the shouts she wanted to let out.

For the first time in seemingly forever, she felt empowered and focused.

Her feet hit the ground with hard thumps and the air whipped audibly as her fingertips sliced through it. Her pupils dilated as her heart pounded on her chest. Her hair whipped against her neck as her head snapped forward. Everything burned with lactic acid and the air was cold against her glistening skin.

Suddenly she could sense her friends close to her.

The odd scent that followed Junko around seemed as palpable as anything could be when it wasn't really there. And Finn's obnoxious, cheap cologne. Even the musky, comforting smell she caught a fragment of every time Stork brushed by her seemed like it was there.

She closed her eyes, and the carpet beneath her feet became the hard, cold steel of the Condor's floor.

And as her movements sped, her precision rising, she could hear Aerrow's laugh. Could see the way his lips parted when he grinned.

Piper smiled, eyebrows lowering in confidence, and turned, starting into the harder second level of routine stances and kicks.

Opening her eyes wasn't necessary. She accelerated toward the opposite end of the room, jabbing the air with her knuckles and ankles and drawing to the final act of the level, propelling herself high into the air and flipping upside-down, leg extended, before her foot met the floor with a thunderous crash and she let out a cry of power.

Adrenaline rushing, Piper opened her eyes.

The Dark Ace stood in front of her, leaning against the door and looking impressed.

Shock crashed into her, making her blink quickly. She stood up, stepping back and wrapping her arms around her chest. "How-how long have you been here?"

"I'm impressed," he uttered, raising his eyebrows over his blood-red gaze.

"Th… thank you." Her reply didn't sound any more sincere than it was. She dropped into a crouch and swallowed against the thrumming of her pulse in her throat.

"I didn't realize your were skilled in Sky Fu." His eyes flashed down from hers so briefly she didn't know whether it had happened or not. "You didn't ask to wear my underwear."

"No. I didn't." Piper looked blankly up at him, feeling completely alien. The fear that should've been there was overridden by her focus. Anticipating its return made it finally begin to creep into the edges of her mind, though, and she edged back another step.

"How tired are you?"

"Uh-" She stammered, mind racing. She didn't know what sort of answer would benefit her. "A little."

"Good."

A blur of red and black made her squeak in shock and her arms shot up defensively. Pain slammed against her wrists and she bared her teeth, cracking an eye open.

He withdrew his fist, angling one foot backward as he shifted his weight and crouched. A ghost of a smile flickered over his features.

"I'm in need of a little practice."


	14. The Match

And now it gets interesting... :]

* * *

13: The Match

* * *

She met his fist with her palm, stumbling backward from the impact. Unclenching her muscles she let her arm fly back with the force, her body spinning as she fisted her hand and aimed at him. He deflected, pushing her wrist aside with his palm and jabbing at her stomach. She stepped back just in time to avoid the blow. He snarled and she looked up in time to see his fist shoot toward her face.

The air hissed over her as she bent backward and turned her head away, his calloused palm grazing her cheek. A short sound of fear escaped her mouth as her mind whirled ferociously. She put her hands to the ground and pushed off, backflipping away. The balls of her feet slammed into the carpet and she gasped dizzily. His blurry form propelled off the ground as he leapt at her.

Frantically trying to shake off the static clouding her mind, she saw the empty space under him. Without thinking she flew forward between his legs, hoping she'd be able to put a meter between them before he landed.

_Pain_.

Piper shouted in anguish as he slammed her to the floor. Anger flooded through her and she sucked in a breath, twisting in his grip.

A grunt escaped him as her ankle jerked in his clutch, and she tightened her stomach, sweeping her free leg at his head. He ducked and her kick missed his jaw, her knee bumping uselessly against his bony shoulder. She bared her teeth and locked the back of her knee around his neck. He growled in outrage as she curled into a defensive ball and dragged his face toward the floor. For a split second she was curled up with his knees on either side of her shoulders and his livid face glaring straight into hers. His grip on her ankle weakened for a split second and she pulled it free, pinning his neck between her legs. He made a sound of frustration as she panted, pulling her legs together and constricting his windpipe. He let out a breathless snicker, and she stared at him in shock.

"This is an interesting position," he growled.

Eyes widening in disbelief, she shoved his neck backward and released him, lurching into a somersault and stopping herself in time to see him backflip and nimbly land on his feet. The blush was only just beginning to fade from her cheeks when he coiled to launch at her.

He leapt a beat after she did. She pulled herself into a roll in midair to gain height, and suddenly the tiles of the floor were in front of her face and she was slamming her palms into the ground to stop herself. Frightened by her lack of awareness, she spun around to face her attacker.

Her head throbbed angrily and just as her vision blurred he slammed into her.

Crying out in pain, Piper skidded against the sharp grain of the grout. She violently sucked in a chestful of air and began fighting against the forceps burning into her wrists that had to be his hands.

He faded into view as she coughed out superheated air and a bead of sweat on her nose trickled down her cheek. He panted, trembling as his eyes burned into hers

(then flickered down)

And he made a strangled noise, eyes shutting, as overwhelming exhaustion sucked the life out of him.

Piper gasped as she jerked her hands free. He fell and she put her palms up and _impact._ The weight of an injured body crumpling in pain.

He screwed his eyes shut as his forehead rested against hers. He could feel her straining to support him and he did his best to shift his weight to the elbow he had on the ground, sucking in a tight breath.

Piper risked a glance at him. His eyelashes prickled the bridge of her nose as he also opened his eyes.

And oh.

_Oh._

His smell

(nutmeg and sweat and skin)

and his breath

(heavy and fragrant)

and his eyes

(burning)

and his strong nose bumping hers as he exhaled sweet, moist air. Oh, _Lord_. He was so… so…

So horridly, intoxicatingly _beautiful_.

Panic.

She turned her head away and gasped icy air. Her heart pounded in her throat as she fought to regain control of her senses.

He panted against her neck as he rested his head on the cold floor. His heart was hitting her hand; his sideburn scraped the skin behind her ear and she gasped, squeezing her eyes shut.

A long moment passed while his breathing slowed toward a normal level. She listened and felt his pulse slow from an inhuman speed to an elevated thump-thump-thump. His neck brushed against hers and she swallowed.

"I'm disappointed." She turned her head and couldn't have prepared herself for the striking glow of his blood-red eyes. He smiled.

"You're hardly a match for me even less injured than I am."

She frowned, fiercely insulted. He dipped his head and chuckled against her ear. Goosebumps rose along her spine.

"_What?_" she demanded in attempt to let off some nervous energy.

"You're so easily offended," he replied. His breath was hot on her cheek. "Learn to control your temper."

"I am _not_ easily offended," Piper snapped. "And why would I take the advice of a Cyclonian?"

"Because I'm right." She held his gaze defiantly and hoped he couldn't feel the heat radiating off her blushing face. "One doesn't have to be a do-gooder to be right."

"But being on the opposite side makes you extremely difficult to trust," she pointed out.

"One doesn't have to be trustworthy to be right either." He blinked. "You don't trust me?"

"Why should I?" She furrowed her brow in disbelief at his precisely surprised-looking face.

"I've proven my desire to keep you out of harm's way."

"By doing _what_, exactly?"

"Rescuing you from certain death, firstly."

"Oh," she exclaimed sardonically. "Is _that_ what I'm supposed to believe?"

"Believe what you want." A flicker of amusement swam within the depths of his pupils. "Putting ideas into people's heads isn't what I do."

"Oh, right," she agreed, sarcasm dripping from her words. "That's your master's job."

He grinned a devilish grin. "Exactly."

"Is our sparring match over? I'd like to wash up if your ego is sated for the day." She did her best to sound casual as opposed to snide.

He raised an eyebrow. "Need any help?"

Her eyes went wide as Piper's face spiked to an unnatural temperature. "No thank you," she said, detaching her hands from his chest and sliding out from under him.

When she was sitting up he pushed himself up on his hands, putting them nose to nose. Piper's breath caught in her throat.

"Are you sure?"

The taste of his breath wafted between her lips.

"Y…yes," she mumbled. She slid away, pushing herself shakily to her feet and turning toward his bathroom.

His eyes didn't leave her until she closed the door.


	15. The Omelet

**A/N:** Oh. My. Gosh.

I NEVER expected to reach 50 reviews on a story. Never. Especially since I haven't written much fan fiction about big, popular franchises yet like Naruto or Twilight.

Thank you guys so much. As I was saying to Knuxnbat, nothing makes me happier than knowing that my wacky imagination brings people joy. I think that that's my purpose in life - to spread creativity and give something to people to get excited about - so if I died today, I would die a happy girl.

(Although I _would_ like God to spare me until I finish this fic…) XD

I'd love it if you continued leaving your opinions and input. And if this story is a little too 'Lifetime movie' for you, stick around. The fics I'm planning after this are all very different from the vibe of this one.

I love you guys! So what are you waiting for? Read away! :D

* * *

14: The Omelet

* * *

The wind was with an edge; a temper just harsh enough to penetrate thick, worn squadron uniforms to cut like a blade into ankles and fingers and wrists.

Aerrow clamped his hands around his shoulders as he walked across the thick grass of the terra. He hesitated, going rigid, and his emerald eyes traced a deep gouge in the terrain. He pulled the radio off of his belt and pushed the _talk _button with a freezing, half-numb finger.

"Finn? Junko? Come in." The breeze picked up until it buffeted him angrily, tossing strips of his hair in his face and forcing him to shift his weight to keep from falling forward. He clenched his teeth together and his brow furrowed in rapidly increasing frustration. "Are you guys there?"

"I'm here," Finn yowled, and the wind roared through the speaker.

"Me too!" Junko, somehow, didn't sound like he was being assaulted.

"I think I might've found something!"

"_What?_"

Stork's frantic, half-crazed voice exploded out and Aerrow cringed, pulling the communicator away from his ear.

"I said I think I FOUND something," Aerrow repeated, and this time he could hear Radarr making a yap of excitement from somewhere near the _Condor'_s central com-unit.

Hurrying in long strides across the ground, the knight skidded to a stop and dropped onto one knee.

"Aerrow!"

The redhead turned to see Junko bolting toward him. Finn was landing several meters away as the wallop joined his leader.

"Look."

He brushed his gloved fingers across the loose dirt, and it hissed as it trickled down the slope and puffed into a cloud off the terra's side.

"Tire tracks?" Junko guessed.

"It sure looks like it."

The radio snapped with static as Radarr scrabbled about and Stork yelled at him to stop. "Aerrow," the Merb called. "What did you find?"

"There's a track here on the edge of the plateau," the redhead explained. "It looks like somebody crash-landed, but there isn't any ride here."

Finn came to a halt, gasping for breath. He traded an anxious glance with Junko.

The Wallop fidgeted and clenched his bulky fists, his expression a frantic one. "Was it Piper?"

"If it was, then where's her heliscooter?"

"I scanned this place earlier," Finn piped up. "It's not anywhere."

Junko's voice was near hysterical. "Do you think she was kidnapped?"

"That would explain the heliscooter," Stork uttered grimy over the com.

The knight remained silent, gazing at the crooked streak of torn earth. "The Wastelands," he murmured.

"_What?_" Finn said incredulously.

"Before we jump to any conclusions, let's search the Wastelands."

"But-"

Junko hesitated, glancing at the sharpshooter.

"-Aerrow, if Piper did fall down there… do you really think that-"

The stare Aerrow fixed him in made the wallop close his mouth.

"Get back to your rides. We're going to look for her." The pair only stared at him, and he added, "Now."

Nodding, Junko turned around and hurried back up the slope toward his skimmer. Finn hesitated, watching his leader.

"Aerrow, are you okay?"

"No!"

The blonde flinched, startled. Aerrow glared at him for a second before catching himself and looking almost frightened. "Just … go, Finn."

The sharpshooter stared at him for a moment longer before nodding.

The hum of the three engines was barely audible over the fury of the wind.

-xXxXx-

Piper opened the door as slowly and as quietly as she could, her knuckles going from cocoa-hued to white as her teeth ground together and her heartbeat began to skip from anxiety to fear.

Sliding one tiny shoulder out the opening, she looked around. She held her breath. The lamplight caught in her wildly nervous eyes and for a minute she looked more like a terrified deer than a human.

After thirty seconds of hearing nothing more than the almost-muffled roar of the Cyclonian winds buffeting against the fortress, the stepped onto the carpet.

She closed her eyes and a shaky sigh escaped her lips.

The carpet was cold and prickled her goosebumped skin as she crumpled before his armoire. Ignoring her pleas, her chest continued to thrum with a horrible, almost frantic anxiety. She raised her right hand to open the top drawer, and it trembled before her.

"Calm _down_," the navigator ordered, closing her eyes and blowing air out through her mouth. But the fist death-gripping the towel around her slim figure rattled until she gritted her teeth and that panicky feeling fluttered up beneath her ribs again.

Things were…

They were twisting.

Slipping.

Slipping so that she could barely keep her mind ordered. Things were all shifting and messy and a chill ran through her as her thoughts swerved dangerously close to what was becoming.

Piper the Storm Hawk.

Piper the Mother; Piper the Sister.

Piper … Piper of the…

_(Piper of the Storm Hawks no longer NO LONGER)_

If not the Storm Hawk then what?

What was she?

A girl? A child?

A fourteen year old?

Piper, the child…

Piper, the orphan?

_Is that all I am?_

Her knees shook as she leaned forward, squeezing her eyes shut. Her senses went dark and patchy as unconsciousness threatened to drag her against the carpet. She was not one. She was one _of six_. Of six that _had_ to need her; had to be as torn apart and fragile without the final piece as the final piece was without them.

_No longer,_ trilled that little voice in her head. As if it were a song. As if it were a revelation over which to be rejoiced. I am Piper _no longer_, because I am a Storm Hawk _no longer!_ I am, I am. No _longer_.

"That's not true," she told herself, convinced herself. No. _Reminded_ herself. "That's not true. It isn't. I… _am_…" but the words felt a horrible flavor, one that grated on her throat and made her eyes burn and came out more frightened than she realized she was inside. "I am … a _Storm Hawk_."

But the tears sprung to her eyes all too eagerly, blurring her slender arm and her knees so primly tucked before her. She gasped a choking gasp, one that raked painfully over the sudden lump in her throat like the _Condor_ rattled against turbulence. And yet…

Yet a second passed, and another. And another. _Tick, tick, tick_. Her heart pulsed hollowly in her ears and she sighed and it hurt like your fingers being jammed against something, but her cheeks remained dry.

Piper sighed, and this time it didn't hurt that much at all.

She felt odd. Hollow, almost, and the emptiness she'd cleared in the front of her mind for crying was filled with a profound poignancy; one that said _I am Piper and I might not be a Storm Hawk anymore and I am still alive._

The girl was still, shocked and hurt by the idea and also fascinated.

Piperofthe- of the… of the _nothing?_ I'm Piper-of-the, but no, maybe, _maybe_ I'm just Piper.

She thought of everything she'd read about grieving and loss and shock, and she went _pffft_ in indignation and rolled her eyes. If there was one thing she knew, it was that nothing was that ridiculously easy.

"Right," she uttered sarcastically. "I'm Piper, Piper of the nothing. Piper of the Nothing, at your service."

"Piper of the Schizophrenics, perhaps," he mused behind her, and aaaah, _aaahahaha_, how _funny_, how didn't she see _this_ coming?

Her bangs fell in her face as she twisted to glare at him. Glare with all the disgust and hatred she could muster, because if she was Piper of the Crazy People, then he was Dark Ace of the Disgustingly Selfish, Cowardly, Greedy, Despicable, Lecherous Old Men. He smirked evilly and she wanted to punch him so hard that his stupid beautiful face would heal up to look like Finn's one-eyed grandma's long-lost twin sister for the rest of his life.

"How long have you been sitting there?" she asked flatly.

"A little while."

"Can you make all of your insulting little jokes right now so we can get them over with?"

He blinked and his smile disappeared. "That's no fun."

"Do I look like I'm in the mood for _fun?"_

He shrugged. "You looked like you wanted to get dressed, but you've been in a towel for almost ten minutes, so I was wrong about that. I'm in no position to make judgments."

Maintaining her irked stare as warmth tingled in something like a blush beneath the surface of her cheeks, she pulled her towel tighter around her.

"And," he said, putting his chin in his palm thoughtfully, "your skin looks quite good against that shade of white, which means I was wrong about that too."

Resisting the nerve to fidget in discomfort, she forced her voice to stay calm. "Would you get me some clothes, please?"

"I thought someone as mature and knowledgeable as yourself would want to pick her own outfit," he replied, feigning surprise. "Then again, I never was good at understanding the art of _dressing_ women…"

Her eyebrows went up in disbelief. "You're disgusting."

He smiled in reply and the glimmer in his eyes was beyond unnerving.

Sighing in frustration, the navigator stood up, pulling open the doors of the cabinet part of his dresser. She looked through his array of clothes, from the ridiculously expensive to the end with the workout shirts.

He bumped against her and she almost screamed. "Here," he said, pulling a worn, gray shirt off of its hanger and handing it to her. He then knelt down next to her, making her go rigid with horror because the towel only covered so much and his mop of thick, dark hair was right where it stopped and the upper part of her thigh emerged just below it. He pulled open the drawer with his boxers in it and pulled out a white pair that he also handed to her. "Go put those on," he said, and with her mouth half open, she walked obediently back into the bathroom and shut the door.

Stepping back out, the navigator looked around. There were a few clanking noises in the kitchen. She padded cautiously to the edge of the carpet and exhaled tensely, crossing her arms.

Without looking up from chopping something into tiny pieces, he said, "You look like you could use a drink."

Now she noticed the two glasses of wine sitting on the counter.

"I'm fourteen," she replied flatly.

"You liked the wine, right?" He picked up the cutting board and scraped the chopped vegetables into a bowl of other colorful pieces of food.

Walking into the kitchen, she put her elbows on the island across from him.

"I'm fourteen."

"I'm making lunch. You won't be drinking it on an empty stomach."

Defeated, she watched him as he poured a bowl of liquid in with the peppers and onions.

After a long while of stirring and seasoning and watching the stirring and seasoning, Piper fidgeted. "How are your injuries?"

"Not nearly as painful as earlier." He sprinkled little white somethings into the bowl and poured the contents into a pan on his stove. "My stomach bled a little."

"You ripped it _open?"_

The Dark Ace rolled his eyes in a very Finn-esque way as the girl hurried over to him.

"Is this all new?" she stared worriedly at the smeary blood darkening the surface of the gauze wrapped around his torso. "Stop cooking," she finally snapped, putting her hands on his sides and turning him to face her. He sighed, his expression vaguely irritated.

"It stopped now. _Please_ don't touch it," he added when she was gingerly pressing her fingertips to the un-bloody parts of his bandages.

"Shhh," she replied curtly. He drummed his fingers on the counter as she pressed her palms to the perimeter of his wound. "You haven't torn any muscles…"

"Not that physical contact doesn't make me feel special…" sarcasm oozed from his words. "But I'd like to prepare this food before next month."

"Shhh!"

"Enough."

Piper stared at him in surprise when he set his knife down and gingerly gripped her wrists, pulling them away from his abdomen.

"I'm trying to make sure you didn't-"

"It _hurts_."

The girl blinked her ocher eyes. "Oh."

For a long moment he fixed her in a stern gaze. Her gaze flicked between either of his eyes nervously and she leaned onto her leg that was further back, putting distance between them.

Something unreadable had filled his eyes.

He slowly released her. She pulled her hands back against her chest and tried to understand the… the _uncertainty_ that had lingered in his stare for but a brief moment. She tucked her hands into her elbows and stepped back as he watched her.

He turned to face the counter and began to prod the appetizing-looking mix of ingredients with a spatula distractedly. She noted the way his brow was pulled taut and the minute downward curve on either side of his mouth.

Could he really be _troubled_ by something? He, the invincible Dark Ace?

"Do you hate me?"

Piper blinked in shock.

"Uh-" she stammered, taken aback by his forwardness. "No. Yes. _Why?"_

He sniffed, amused by something she was oblivious to. "Because I'm your sworn enemy whose primary occupation is slaying your precious Aerrow."

The mention of him sent an odd pang of anger and sadness through her. "Aerrow is-" but she caught herself before denouncing how much he meant to her, silently scolding herself for having come so close to giving him the most valuable piece of information on her that existed. "…I…" finally she scoffed, mad at him and herself and her inability to come up with an easy answer.

"_Surely_ you must loathe me, o Piper of the Nothing."

She watched as the oil and butter sizzled and he stirred it, his face betraying nothing.

"Of course I hate you," she agreed, growing rapidly more concerned as she heard the uncertainty in her words.

A mischievous grin stretched his lips and made his perfect teeth show. "Even though I'm making you an omelet?"

"Yes," she snapped. "Making breakfast food does little in the way of a peace treaty when the chef is a ruthless murderer."

"Surely you don't think I'm _that_ idiotic." The tiny bubbles kept on popping as he pushed the peppers around in the skillet. "Your _sharpshooter_ probably isn't even that stupid."

"Finn can't help that he's a little … slow!"

"So what are you saying?" She looked him up and down in utter disdain as his wicked smirk grew even more wicked. "That the fact that he has an IQ that mine is divisible by _doesn't_ make him a somebody I can pick on?"

After a minute of failing at coming up with a good comeback she said, "As a matter of fact, yes. That _is_ what I'm saying."

His red eyes flicked to her. "So you're in love with Finn then."

"Yes. _What?"_

He made a face much like that of a little boy who had just won an argument with his teacher and flipped the omelet in victory.

"Of _course_ I don't!"

"So it's the carrier pilot."

"No, Stork is my _friend_."

"The Wallop?"

"Junko has the mind of a _two-year-old_."

"But I thought limited intelligence was irrelevant," he pointed out in a hurt voice.

"Not when it comes to romance!"

"So it's Aerrow then." All the frivolity had left his voice.

Piper made approximately half of the sounds the alphabet consists of before managing a recognizable word: "_No_."

The zany look of evil filled his eyes once more. "Are you interested in females?"

"_No!"_

A laugh bubbled up from his chest at her anger. It made Piper angrier still when the melodious sound made tingles run up and down her spine.

"Why does romance have to be a part of my life?"

"You're a child," he responded simply. The omelet was beginning to smell wonderful. "A fourteen-year-old, at that. At the very least, you're battling overwhelming hormones."

"What do hormones have to do with love?"

He blinked at her. "You don't know yet?"

"Of COURSE I know." He kept sneering manically at the stove. "But there's a difference between biological development and having feelings for somebody!"

"Oh _no_ there isn't," he retorted.

"Of course there isn't to _you_, you're a greedy coward who cares about nothing but yourself!"

A sigh was his only response.

Piper propped her crossed arms on the counter, staring triumphantly at finally rendering him wordless.

"If you loathe me so, why are you standing here?" When her reply wasn't immediate he added, "A few days ago you were making a habit of sulking in the spot beside my dresser."

Knowing trying to come up with a logical retort was a useless endeavor, she mumbled, "Because there isn't anything else to do. That's _disgusting_," she spat when his stoic expression morphed into a deviant grin. "Why do I even attempt conversation with you?"

"Because there's nothing else to do," he answered innocently.

She stared at him with all the contempt she could muster.

"I _hate_ you," she spat.

He chuckled as she stormed to his bedroom to sulk in privacy.

"I know."

* * *

Oh my LORD. My mom took a short vacation from her job - she's a self-employed dog-groomer. She changed her message to one that explained that she isn't taking appointments for a few weeks. That seems like a nice enough way to put it, right?

WRONG.

She has these little old ladies as clients. One of them is a real sweetheart, but another one is completely NUTS. And they're, like, having a let's-camp-out-and-stalk-Gina-to-figure-out-what's-going-on fest! They keep calling and calling and calling, and the one WAS JUST SITTING IN OUR DRIVEWAY FOR HALF AN HOUR.

Anyway, I don't know whether this is disturbing or hilarious. But I thought I'd let you know. XD


	16. The Visitor

15: The Visitor

_

* * *

_

_Laughing, she shook her head. He chuckled himself, unlatching his green fingers from the steering column of the helm._

_It took him a long moment to gather the courage to speak. "Um, can I ask you a question?"_

_Rolling her map up and nodding, the navigator replied, "Sure, Stork."_

"_It's about the say when you, uh… quit temporarily. The day with Ravess."_

"_The day with the rain?" He nodded in response._

"_When you left us, what was going through your mind?"_

"_I thought…" she trailed off. Swallowing, she continued. "I thought you didn't need me." Her golden eyes fell to the floor and he saw a sadness in her he never had before._

"_Piper…" she looked up and the Merb looked away sheepishly, rubbing his arm. "We may be able to survive without you for a few days, but we'll-"_

_When he met her gaze, his illusive half-smile slid onto his face._

"_-We'll always need you."_

_At his words she stared, surprised at first. Finally she smiled in reply. There was no need for words then._

_He understood her._

"Stork!"

"Huh?" The carrier pilot jumped, pulling his mouthpiece closer to his face.

"Geez, I thought you ditched us or something."

The Merb looked out the windows as the thick, smoky clouds churned upward and more were belched out by the volcanoes below.

"As much as I'd like to, Finn, I didn't."

"Good, cuz- AAAAAH!"

Stork flinched as the sharpshooter's piercing scream blasted through his headphones.

"-cuz these giant lava-worm thingies don't seem to like me very much," he concluded, sounding panicked.

"I don't blame them," Stork uttered under his breath.

"HEY. I _heard_ that. YAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

He jolted again as the blonde shrieked once more.

"FINN!"

This was Aerrow.

"Knock it off! I'm getting a headache."

"Me too," crackled Junko from his end of the intercom. "Excuse me, sir. Do you have any pain medication?"

Stork raised a thick eyebrow.

"Who is he talking to?" Finn wondered aloud.

"Oh, it's just this talon I ran into in a cave."

"A talon?" Aerrow exclaimed.

"Yeah," the Wallop responded innocently. Stork smacked a hand to his face, groaning in utter disdain. "Oh … _oh! _Hey Mister Talon Guy! Wait up!"

"Ugh," Finn grunted, and the roar of lava spewing made his voice almost inaudible.

"I see the cave, Junko," called Aerrow. "I'm comin' in as backup."

"I think he's a survivor of the battle a couple days ago," said Junko, and the angry howls of the Cyclonian echoed in the background as the Wallop sat on him. "Hey! Maybe he knows where Piper is!"

"My thinking exactly," the knight agreed. For the first time in days, Stork thought, he sounded like himself again. "Stork, bring the _Condor_ down. Looks like we're gonna have a visitor."

"Rodger that," the Merb called, saluting toward the helm as he pulled a few pressure-controlling levers in preparation for descent. A deranged grin filed his face as he added, "I'll get out the interrogation kit."

-xXxXx-

He pushed the plate across the bed until it sat before her, steam rising invitingly from it. She turned her eyes up to his crossly. "I'm not hungry."

"Eat," he replied. When she glared at him he handed her a fork.

"_Eat_," he repeated.

Holding the utensil out, the navigator raised an eyebrow. "You _first_."

The warrior rolled his eyes. "I didn't put anything in it." A few long seconds ticked by in silence. "Fine," he muttered, snatching the fork. He cut a small bite out of the omelet with amazing dexterity, speared it, and put it in his mouth. She watched him chew and swallow, and finally he held the fork back out to her.

"Your turn," he said snidely.

Sighing, Piper picked up the plate. When she cut it in half, the aroma that wafted out was heavenly. Her mouth began to water as she cut a few identically sized pieces and put one in her mouth. It took all of her willpower not to show how blissfully wonderful it tasted, but her dignity was enough to keep her exterior calm.

"Where did you learn to cook?" she asked casually.

"I learned a long time ago," he responded. "You have to know if you're going to live alone."

"You live in a giant fortress with tens of thousands of underlings."

"And I wouldn't touch a thing made by any of them."

She finished her second bite, meticulously cutting another. "Does Cyclonis cook?"

"I'm not sure," he said, and he grabbed her fork that was midway from the plate to her mouth, eating the piece of egg on it. She frowned at him as he handed the utensil back and she resumed eating. "My master is very talented."

"Hmph." Piper cut off a large piece and shoved it in her mouth.

"You shouldn't be so judgmental," he said, and she ignored him as she shoved another bite between her lips. "She's a lot like you, you know."

"I am _nothing_ like her."

When a giant ball of half-chewed food threatened to fall out of her mouth, Piper put her hand in front of her face, blushing immensely. The Dark Ace sniffed, amused.

"Her manners may be a little more advanced," he mused. "But you're about the same age. You're both brilliant. You both are experts on crystals."

"_I'm_ not hateful and selfish."

"Neither is my master. Cyclonis is an opportunist. She has nothing against you."

"Oh, she _doesn't_, does she?" The girl raised an eyebrow, smiling incredulously.

When her captor only sat quietly, she hopped off the bed and trotted briskly across the room.

"What are you doing?"

Ignoring him, she strode to his door. "If Cyclonis doesn't have anything against me, then she won't mind if she finds me taking a little stroll around the terra. Wha- _hey!"_

Piper flailed as the talon commander slung her over his shoulder. "You insolent little brat," he muttered.

"Let me GO." Kicking her legs uselessly, she glared at his back.

"I'm going to rupture a disc if you don't stop that," he snapped. When she finally gave up, he gripped her by the waist and dropped her on his bed.

"Don't ever pick me up again!" Piper sat up, glaring daggers at Dark Ace.

Gripping her arms, he pushed her down against the bed.

"Then don't push your luck, Storm Hawk," he hissed.

The girl squirmed in his grasp. "Don't call me that."

"Don't call you… why?"

"Just call me by my name."

Puzzled, his luminous red gaze flicked from her left eye to her right. Finally the suspicion in his stare shifted to something like fascination. "As you wish."

When he let go of her, she slid away and sat up, breathing heavily. She clamped her hands onto her slender arms where his fingers had been. A faint touch of his scent lingered in the air before her, and when her mouth began to water, she told herself that it was just because she wanted to finish the omelet. Her dainty hands shook as she reached for it, and she chewed nervously as he watched her with that almost predatory air.

"If you're finished acting out for the day, Piper, I've been thinking about it, and I _do_ want you to look at my wounds."

"Oh." Startled, she blinked up at him. "Okay."

"Just let me take something for the pain first."

The navigator nodded, and he turned and walked into the kitchen. She stared at the bandages wrapped around the lower part of his abdomen, then at the hideous gash that had scabbed over on the inner part of his left shoulder blade. His slender, muscular physique reminded her of that of some seasoned, battle-scarred jungle cat. He took a handful of pills with the glass of wine he'd left by the stove, and for some reason watching him swallow made her shudder. Deciding that she needed a distraction, she took her empty plate to the sink. His presence was hawklike behind her and the air seemed icy between them. His footfalls were light as he left the tiled floor and returned to his bed.

A sickening mix of terror and anticipation oozed through her stomach as she ran the plate under the hot water. She didn't want to look at his wounds. She didn't want to. At all. She thought of the musky, human scent of him and her whole middle became a cramping twinge of anxiety.

The carpet was thick and she shuffled over it, swallowing once. Then twice. Her throat stubbornly remained dry. She set the supplies she had gathered on his nightstand. Finally she looked at him.

He stared up at her, arms above his head with one hand closed around the opposite wrist.

Gulping, Piper sat down next to him.

Silently giving herself one final order to stay calm, she leaned over his lithe form. She slid her nails under the edge of the highest strip of bandage on his right side and pulled it away from his warm skin. She picked the scissors up and slid the lower blade of them under it, making a tiny cut. When he made no motion to stop her, she slid the scissors in deeper. _Snip, snip, ssssnip_. Meticulous.

She could just barely feel his heartbeat as she rested her fingertips against him and peeled the gauze away. The scabs made horrid tearing noises as they clung to the fabric and separated from his skin.

"Are you okay?" she asked breathlessly.

"I'm fine," he rasped. His eyes were closed and his jaw was set. Her stare wandered down to his chest, and she could see his heart pounding inside it.

Oh, Atmos.

It was horrific.

For a minute she fought the urge to vomit, squeezing her eyes shut and breathing deeply. The strips of bandage fluttered down to stretch on either side of him, the undersides of the hideous scabs gleaming dully in the lamplight.

His voice was strangled. "Is there any infection?"

Forcing herself to look at it, she mumbled, "I don't know."

He struggled to pull in deep breaths as blood slowly pooled like bright ruby pinpricks in the pinkish troughs of absent flesh.

"I need to get rid of your bandages before I do anything else."

Trying not to cringe visibly in case he looked at her, Piper grabbed the swatch of used material where there was no scabbing, then pushed her fingers beneath his back to indicate that he needed to move. With a grunt he pushed himself onto his elbows and she hurriedly pulled the strips out from under him.

"Relax," she said softly, and he half-laid and half-flopped back onto the bed with a hiss of discomfort. She dropped the soiled bandages into the basket beside her, fighting down the urge to shiver in horror.

"How bad is it?"

Opening his eyes, he gazed at her, still grimacing.

"It's … uh…" after a second she opted to be honest. "It's not great."

"_Please_ tell me it isn't infected."

Swallowing, the navigator put one hand on the other side of him and leaned close. She mentally noted the absence of any swelling, and though it was hard to tell with his dark skin, she was fairly sure that no red lines were reaching outward from the edges.

"I don't _think_ it is." She peeked up at his face to find him looking at the ceiling. "But let me check your lymph nodes just to be sure."

He stared at her as she moved closer to his chest, maneuvering her hands as smoothly as she could. His skin was warm under her hands as she pressed her fingers lightly into the cords in his neck. "Does that hurt?"

"No," he rasped.

Ignoring the knot in her stomach and the way his breath skirted over her neck, she slid her index fingers up behind his ears. His thick hair made her skin tingle as she gulped. His lips parted and he pulled in a breath, blinking.

Trying to keep her voice steady, she uttered, "Does _that_ hurt?"

"No. It doesn't."

The heaviness of his gaze made her feel small and vulnerable and she sat back, sucking in air through her nose to clear her head.

"Then you p-probably don't have an infection," she stammered. His eyes somehow seemed amused. Unnerved, she pulled her hands away quickly. "I need to wash the wound out, though."

"Christ," he uttered, closing his eyes. Piper frowned and considered lecturing him, then decided against it.

"I have the water ready whenever you want me to do it."

"Wait."

Swallowing, she met his eyes.

"Get me my glass of wine."

She hurried over to the counter where he'd abandoned his drink, then returned. He had pushed himself up to his elbows, and when she handed it to him, he tipped the glass and gulped it down in five long swallows. Attempting to ignore the anxiety that was now bubbling angrily through her abdomen, she took the glass back and watched him wipe his lips with the back of his hand. "Do it," he rasped.

When she tipped the bowl, the solution dripped onto his upper abdominal muscles. She swallowed as it ran across his dusky skin toward the upper edge of the gash. She could feel her heart slamming against the bottom of her throat.

His teeth clenched and he squeezed his eyes shut as the water trickled into his healing tissue. "I'm sorry, I just have to clean it out," she murmured, and he made a strangled sound of agony as the water filled the depth of the gouges and streamed out in tiny fingers of bloody liquid over the sides.

Setting the bowl down, the navigator grabbed the pile of towels she'd readied and unfolded one. She gingerly placed it on his torso just above the elastic of his pajama pants and slid it upward to soak up the water.

"Damn it," he groaned, and she carefully blotted up the liquid with another towel, trying not to touch the painful areas.

"I know, I know," she said, leaning down and blowing on the bloody slices to soothe them. "Try to sit up a little to get the water to run out."

"Should I juggle something while I'm at it?"

"No, I'm sorry, just try." She took the towels off and put her hands under his sides, attempting to help him as he struggled to prop himself against the headboard. The bloody solution ran down toward his pants and she grabbed one of the cloths, putting it on his lap (and thinking for a split second that if Finn knew that she'd been doing this she'd never hear the end of it) and encouraging him with, "That's good. Thank you."

"Good God," he exclaimed, cracking one eye open as he struggled to breathe. "Well _that_ hurt like hell."

"I know," she said, taking the cloth and gingerly patting the skin around the injury. "But it has to stay clean."

"Are you gonna bandage it?"

"No, not yet. Let it dry a little first."

"Christ," he muttered again. Piper sighed and looked at him in sympathy.

"How did you get hurt so badly?"

"Do you really think I want to talk about that?"

"No, no. I'm sorry."

"Pick something else," he grumbled. "Distract me."

"Uhhh, so … who's your favorite great philosopher?"

"Never mind. Don't talk."

Frowning, she sat back. He groaned again and tried to sit up more.

"Here," she said, hurrying around the bed and climbing on her side. "Let me help." She slid one hand behind his back and grasped his shoulder with the other, pulling as best she could. He let off a breath in relief and relaxed. "Are you okay?"

"That's hardly a relevant question," he said, and a flicker of a smile passed over his features. Immediately she felt better.

He wrapped his arm around her and she jumped. He laughed.

"What are you doing?"

He chuckled again. "I can't be expected to just sit here in pain, can I? I need some sort of distraction."

"Wait," she stammered, putting her hand up and pushing against his chest.

His fingers tightened against her back and he pulled her closer. He stared into her eyes, all humor gone.

"No."

Piper gulped, holding his bewitching stare. He looked at her mouth and back at her eyes. Immediately her heart pounded faster, her neck and arms breaking out in goosebumps. His long fingers brushed over hers, pulling her hand from his chest. He pressed his mouth to her knuckles and turned his beautiful gaze to her. His lips were rough and he smelled like heaven and a horrible warmth rose in her stomach as she gasped in disbelief.

"Thank you," he murmured, and she couldn't remember how to breathe.

When she had no words, he only smiled.

* * *

Check out the poll on my profile. It relates to this story.

:P


	17. Warmth

16: Warmth

* * *

Dark and warm.

Sweet… so sweet and deep with an edge of spice.

Piper squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a breath. Her fingers twitched and she could feel the rough skin beneath them.

She opened her eyes.

His head was turned toward her and his hand was rested in her hair.

His rhythmic breathing felt like the quaking of something great and old beneath her.

_I fell asleep against him,_ she thought fuzzily, and she turned her head to brush her lips against his strong shoulder. Oh, Lord.

He was angelic.

He made a sound as he shifted in his sleep. His slender fingers tightened in her hair and he rested his chin on her head. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and the bandages on his stomach brushed against her shins.

"Dark Ace," she whispered. Tasting it in her mouth. Trying to acclimate herself to the title of the cruel, greedy abomination of a man. In the calm stillness of the night, when facts were hidden in shadow and all of reality was warped by the curtain of exhaustion, it almost tasted good.

"Piper," he murmured in reply. And if she couldn't feel the expensive sheets beneath them and the lean, tall shape of him against her, she would've sworn the voice was Aerrow's. He buried his face in her thick hair and stilled, breathing long and deep. It made a chill run down her spine and the little navigator shuddered.

Oh, how she longed for the graceful, long-fingered hand in her hair to be pale instead of bronze. How she wished the hair on the pillow with hers was fiery red. How she wanted the eyes closed near hers to open and be green, the most beautiful, striking green…

But they weren't.

And they never would be.

Piper snuggled against him and wrapped her arm around his chest, inhaling his warmth and his smell. Here in this darkness he didn't feel evil. He didn't feel dangerous. He felt strong and quiet and beautiful and safe.

And as she watched him exhaustedly through the shadows, she almost forgot why she hated him.


	18. The Wardrobe

17: The Wardrobe

* * *

"Quick! Quick!"

"S'goin' on?" mumbled Piper, squinting as the Dark Ace shook her violently.

"Wake up!"

"Bu'um still sleepy," she protested.

"Quick," he repeated, half-dragging her out from under the covers. There was a banging noise - her eyes widened as she realized it was knocking. She flailed herself into a standing position, and there were hands shoving her forward.

"What's going on?" she demanded again, dizzily stumbling across the carpet.

"Just get in the closet!"

"What? In your _wardrobe?"_

"Get IN!"

"But I'm-"

He slammed the doors in her face, leaving a bewildered Piper kneeling on a dusty wooden shelf with a shirtsleeve on her head.

Suddenly she was blinded as he threw the doors open once more, fumbling around for a shirt. Piper coughed as a cloud of dust exploded in her face and a sweater landed on her back. He jammed it shut and she was once again thrown into darkness.

Gasping for breath, she tried to hear what was going on. There was an odd creaking sound - maybe the opening of his heavy-duty doors - and there were voices, at least one profoundly higher than the one she'd gotten used to. Her heart was beating so loudly that she wasn't sure if she was being quiet or not, so she crawled carefully back behind the row of neglected shirts and sat in the corner. She opened her mouth to breathe silently.

"-can't believe your absence has been unnoticed," she thought she heard someone prattling. "Well it certainly hasn't by me, and I'd like to know why I suddenly have twice the workload on my shoulders."

There was a scoff-like laugh from the Dark Ace.

"What?" The voice demanded again.

"I'm taking a few days off by order of Master Cyclonis herself."

"_Really?_ That _is_ interesting."

By this point Piper had no doubt who the obnoxious voice was coming from.

"And why would such a gratuitous reward have been granted?"

"If it was anyone's business, I'm sure my Master would see to it that all parties concerned had been informed."

"Are you calling me unimportant?"

"Hardly."

"Good, because I should be at your level by next week if I continue being given such outlandish objectives so often. Not to say that I'm not deserving of a promotion already."

"Not to say that at all," Ace agreed resignedly, sounding very much like he just wanted her to leave.

"So what have you been doing for the past week? Holing up in your room all buy yourself?"

"I tend to enjoy time off when the only alternative is trying to order around idiotic talons," he retorted.

Her voice got low, and Piper leaned forward as she strained to hear.

"You're not lonely in there, are you?" the question had been, she thought.

"Hardly."

"Because if you were, I could put some of _your_ workload on Snipe's plate for a day or two."

"As much as I enjoy observing your sisterly affection-"

"Oh, come on. Surely you were taught to invite a lady in."

"But of course," he countered before clearing his throat. "Forgive me for sounding ignorant, Ravess, but …I'm not sure what lady you're talking about…"

A long silence followed. Piper put a hand to her mouth, fighting the urge to giggle with glee. _Touché!_

She was trying to keep her temper. "Oh come now, Dark Ace. I'm sure we could find something to do to… pass the time."

"As… _enlightening_ as that sounds, I'm going to have to decline. Now if you'd excuse me-"

"I don't know why you insist on refusing me," she said, snubbed.

_Oh, gee. Well _she_ certainly gets to the point._ Piper fidgeted, irked. Were _all_ adults this immodest?

"I don't either," he said, now just sounding bored. "I think I'll take some more time off to mull it over."

There was a SLAM and then a few clicks and a very angry Ravess scoffed, then began yelling through the door. Piper grinned broadly and sat back as the female commander screeched obscenities before coming to an abrupt conclusion. Finally there was silence.

Sighing, the girl relaxed. Shifting to ward off the growing stiffness in her ankles, she was startled when something made a scraping noise. She froze, but when it was quiet she continued moving. Again something scraped. This time, however, she could feel something smooth against her leg. Maneuvering to keep from knocking any of the hangers down, she reached out to find whatever she had bumped.

Her index finger met something cool and smooth. She closed her hand on it and realized that she was grasping the corner of something. Tracing her fingertips across the top edge, she located what felt like the round nub of a handle. It was a box.

Light flooded in and Piper squinted, tensing up.

"It's safe," said the Cyclonian, and he pushed the clothing apart and smiled at her. "The witch is no more."

Unable to keep from beaming, Piper took his hand and slid out of the wardrobe.

"That woman is going to learn the meaning of pain if she doesn't stop throwing herself at me," he said, and he leaned over her to close the doors.

"I didn't know that Ravess was so… enthusiastic." The warrior was back on his bed, closing his eyes and folding his hands behind his head.

"Normally she isn't. I guess I'm the lucky exception." He grimaced. Piper giggled.

"What other romance goes on here?" She sat down next to him, hoping Piper the Recon Expert sounded merely like Piper the Chatty Teenager.

"Well, you've got the usual talons pining after the Master," he said, opening his eyes and thinking. "The few that aren't too stupid to be oblivious to her beauty."

"Hmm," she replied, trying not to sound disgusted.

"And Repton's only love is butchering men when their backs are turned. Occasionally you'll stumble upon a bloody mess he left behind."

"A-and he doesn't get in trouble for that?" The navigator tried to sound casual as she stared in horror.

"A few mindless pawns are worth it if it means keeping the Raptors in compliance." He sniffed, grinning, and her stomach hurt. "My Master feels for no one. I sometimes wonder if there's even a human in her."

"I've wondered that myself," she muttered dryly.

"I sometimes envy her." His voice was quiet and she wondered if he even knew that he was speaking out loud. "Her strength … it's … beautiful…"

"It's hard to see something so cold as beautiful," Piper softly objected.

When he chuckled softly and grinned, it was infuriating and beautiful at the same time.

"Strange what people think is desirable. Our needs are all so different."

"Not really."

He looked at her through his fringe of midnight hair, eyes calm and speculating.

"Everyone is searching for happiness," she said, and she rubbed her shoulder sheepishly. "But some people search for their own happiness and some want to find peace for everybody."

"Smart," he appraised, and then the tranquility in his stare was traded for something darker. "And where does that leave the ones who are angry at the world?"

After a moment she looked away. She had no answer.

"Where does _your_ happiness lie?"

She looked up at him, pulling in a hasty breath.

Where _did_ it lie?

(the odd scent that followed Junko around)

_Compared to all of existence, we've only known each other for a fraction of a-_

(Finn's obnoxious cheap cologne)

_You're my … best friend._

(the hard, cold steel of the Condor's floor)

_You just seem to be … I don't know._

_On the same wavelength as me._

(Aerrow's laugh and the way his lips parted when he grinned)

"I don't know," she whispered, and sudden tears cascaded down her face, down her neck, spotting the bed as she crumpled into a ball, hurting like she'd taken a blow to the stomach.

His arms wrapped around her and he pulled her close. She buried her face in the warmth of his neck as he rubbed her back and murmured "don't cry" in a beautiful, melodious mantra into her hair.

_I can't help it,_ she wanted to say. _I can't help it._

But she couldn't. She couldn't even breathe.

"I'm sorry," he cooed, and she wrapped her arms around him and sobbed onto his shoulder. He pressed his lips to her cheek and stroked her hair and she cried even harder.

But she didn't _want_ his sympathy.

It wasn't supposed to be like this, him peppering her face with warm kisses, eyelashes brushing her face as his musky essence filled her lungs.

It wasn't supposed to be almost…

Almost irresistible.

She wasn't supposed to feel tiny and exposed, and he wasn't supposed to make her shiver and lose her breath.

Days of fear and exhaustion weren't supposed to catch up with her as he showered her in endless affection. Her body wasn't supposed to willingly accept his chapped lips and the strong curve of his nose against her cheeks and her throat and her shoulders. And it certainly shouldn't have been so easy to fall into a drowsed stupor, mind numb but for the little sparks of electricity that pooled just beneath consciousness every time his lips caressed her forehead or cheekbone or the corner of her mouth.

She didn't know what grieving was supposed to be like, but it definitely wasn't like this.

* * *

I've been over and over and over this stuff for months, so even though it's brand new to you, to me it's completely ludicrous.

…

I KNOW YOU ARE, BUT WHAT AM I?

C:


	19. The Lie

18: The Lie

* * *

Stork was ready to meet them as soon as Aerrow, Finn, and Junko returned. "Where's our guest?" he rasped, eyes wide as the trio dismounted from their skimmers.

"Right here!" Junko held up the bundle of crudely-tied rope with a head popping out at the upper end.

"I have everything ready," the Merb announced cheerily. "Are we going to interrogate him right now?"

"Let's lay off the heavy duty stuff for now, Stork." At the chiding tone of the redhead, Stork's ears drooped in annoyed disappointment. "First it's Junko's turn."

"What?"

The pilot quieted down as Junko and Finn carried the talon out of the hangar.

"Um, how is Junko going to _torture_ him? Read him bedtime stories until he dies of boredom?"

"Actually, Finn and I were just discussing that, and we came up with a new technique we're pretty eager to try out."

Still looking insulted, the Merb rolled his eyes. "Fine," he grumbled. Aerrow grinned and shook his head as the carrier pilot stalked back to his post.

"There you go," Junko said with a cheery grin as he set the prisoner down.

The talon glared daggers at him through his goggles, squirming in his chair against his bound hands and feet. "I'll never talk," he snapped.

"You lose!" the Wallop shouted. "Get it? 'Cause you said you wouldn't talk, but you just did!"

At the lack of amusement from the Cyclonian end of the conversation, Junko's smile shrank. "Uh, okay. I'll be riiight back." Hurrying out of the room, Junko walked into the kitchen where Finn was slamming cupboard doors.

"_That's_ what you're gonna do?"

Aerrow nodded. Stork snickered.

"I have to say, I'm impressed."

"Let's see how it goes before we start celebrating," the knight replied.

"Oh," the pilot said. "It'll work."

At the deranged smirk on Stork's face, Aerrow forced a smile and backed out of the room.

"Aerrow! Where are you?" Finn shouted.

"Coming," the sky knight called. A delighted chuckle from Stork filled the empty space he'd left behind.

-xXxXx-

Obscenely beautiful eyes burned into hers, so powerful that she could almost hear the secrets that pooled within the deep, black orbs those two crimson motes surrounded.

He closed them as he kissed her cheek, replacing the salty sting of tears with the roughness of his lips. A shaky sigh escaped her mouth and she wrapped her arms tight around him, burying her face in the warmth of his neck.

"I shouldn't have asked that," he murmured into her hair. He stroked her back, holding her close as she exhaled slowly. "I'm sorry."

_It's okay_. The words pooled behind her teeth but she was still too shaken to speak them. She snuggled against him in quiet forgiveness.

"Thank you for tending to my wounds."

The glorious creature tightened his embrace. He rested the side of his face on the top of her head.

"I don't know what I would have done without you."

Squirming enough to move her face from against his rough skin, she managed to choke out, "Is it true? What you said to Ravess?"

"What?" He rubbed her back again, long fingers drawing little lines of heat over her dark skin.

"Is is true that Cyclonis ordered you- your leave?"

The mass of rich-smelling warmth did not reverberate with sound, and Piper began to think that he wasn't going to answer.

"Yes," he finally said. "She wants me to heal before I engage anyone in battle."

"Oh," she said, not sure why this made her feel disappointed. She gulped. Then she admitted, "I don't know… if I want you to return to battle."

He hugged her fiercely, kissing the mess of dark hair atop her head. "Not to worry," he said in a cheerful voice. He then sniffed in amusement. "I never lose."

"You do to-"

_-to us._

To … them.

"-to some people," she finished. He chuckled, and oh, it made the urge to shiver that bubbled up inside her almost impossible to repress.

"Not to many," he replied, and he pulled back, cupping her face in one hand and tilting her chin upward.

Piper blinked. "That shouldn't relieve me."

He smiled. "But it does, doesn't it?"

"You're…" she paused, thinking. "You're bad at being detestable sometimes."

His smile got bigger. "Am I?"

"Yes. And that's a failure on your part. Don't be happy."

"I don't want to be detested by _everyone_," he countered, raising an eyebrow. "That should be apparent by now."

"Hm," she grunted, looking away from him and crossing her arms defensively over herself. A tear escaped one eye and she rubbed it away quickly, looking toward the far side of the room. He watched her silently. "Dark Ace?"

"Yes, Piper?"

Ugh. He sounded so much like the sky knight when he said her name.

"Am I…" _You sound like an idiot, _her inner voice said to her. "Am… I attractive?"

For a long, embarrassing moment, all was silent. Then he chuckled.

"What?" She glared up at him.

"What an idiotic question," he said, then laughed some more. He put a hand to his stomach and cringed, trying to still himself before he managed to make his injury worse.

"How so?" she spat defensively.

"You're not attractive. You're _very_ attractive."

Dumbfounded, Piper blinked. "I am?"

"You're very pretty," he said sincerely, his eyes intense.

She swallowed and looked down. The warmth that wafted up in her abdomen unnerved her.

His weight shifted and she felt his blessed form eclipse her tightly once more. Though she felt guilty for it as soon as it occurred, she relaxed and rested her face against his shirt. Her fingers interlaced on the ridge of his spine and she sighed. His voice rumbled against her comfortingly as he spoke. "Who made you think otherwise?"

"Don't say-"

"Was it Aerrow?"

Piper pulled abruptly back and fixed him in a look that was half shock and half hurt. "No," she replied softly.

"I always thought he was closest to you," the Cyclonian said quietly.

"He… we…"

Tilting her face downward so he couldn't see it, she sighed and closed her eyes.

"I was second in command," she said simply. She was unaware of the way his eyes widened.

She was unaware that she'd said _was_.

"Is that all?"

She smiled, then wrapped her arms tighter around the Cyclonian. "Yes."

Looking up at her beautiful captor, she smiled again. He gazed at her wordlessly.

The whites of her eyes were bloodshot and the depths of her pupils were profoundly sad. As she opened her mouth to speak, tears spilled down her already moisture-stained face.

"Have you ever wanted to be more than just second-in-command?"

The Dark Ace stared at her for a long moment.

"No," he lied.


	20. Words

19: Words

* * *

Grinning in sheer excitement, the Wallop charged into the room and plopped down on the floor.

"Have fun, Mister Cyclonian." Finn winked and waved as he, Aerrow, and Radarr watched the door swish shut.

"Hi again," Junko said placidly. The talon glared over his head. "Uh, I guess I'm just supposed to hang out with you and make you feel at home before the guys ask you some questions."

When he was positive Junko wasn't looking, the man peeked down at the pile of things the Storm Hawk had brought with him.

"I've got all kinds of things to do. We have books - this one's my favorite - and we have board games. Though I guess I'll have to move your piece since you're all tied up. And we have snacks! Isn't this awesome? Aerrow and Finn made me triple-spicy skyquad burritos! Haha, I already ate three."

"W-what are they?"

"Hmm?" Junko looked up, half of one already shoved in his mouth. "Shriplwe spiffee syfwad mur-"

The Wallop was interrupted by a sudden rattle that grew louder and louder until it was a roar. And as suddenly as it started, the noise stopped.

"-oops." Junko smiled sheepishly. "Excuse me."

"For what? What _was_ that?" The talon looked around frantically, waiting for the ceiling to collapse or for alarms to start going off. When nothing happened, he looked back at the Wallop. Blinking, he sniffed.

A scream of horror erupted from the storage room, ringing all the way to either end of the huge ship.

"Yes!" Finn said, pumping a fist in the air. "It's working!"

Stork snickered, and Aerrow rolled his eyes.

-xXxXx-

Finishing her last bite of her quiche, Piper sighed blissfully.

"You enjoyed it?"

"Thoroughly," she replied, beaming. "You're an excellent chef."

"Is there something you're forgetting?"

Unaware of what it could be, the girl stared blankly at him.

Rolling carefully over to reach his nightstand, he picked up a glass and handed it to her.

"Oh," she said flatly, "how could I?"

"Wine is good for your heart." Scooting so he was propped up, he continued picking at the last few pieces of food on his plate.

"I'm also fourteen," she said evenly. Letting out a short breath of frustration, she sipped a bit of the blood-red liquid. She squinted and crinkled up her nose, coughing.

"Good girl," he murmured with a smirk. She hacked violently and glared daggers at him. She took in another tiny mouthful reproachfully. "It's really quite harmless, especially on a full stomach."

"I guess there isn't much trouble I could get into here anyway," she said thoughtfully in attempt to quell her own concern. She looked up when she got the feeling she was missing something. He was smirking lecherously. "No!"

"What?" He shielded himself with one hand as she flicked his face.

"Bad!"

"Stop it!"

Still flustered, Piper withdrew. The Dark Ace cracked an eye open and, determining that he was safe, relaxed.

"Of all people, I'd expect someone of your age to appreciate such humor."

"Ha! 'Such humor.' Pff!" She rolled her eyes in disgust. "I-hey!" She scooted away as he flicked at her arm.

"You're a prude," he said, still flicking her as she screeched in exasperation and tried to push his hand away.

"How _dare_ you!"

"How _dare_ I? I bet you've never said a foul word in your life."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Say 'shit'."

"No!"

"Just say it!"

"_No!_"

"Then you don't have to swear. Say 'sex'."

"No!"

"Why not? Say it as in what gender something is."

"This is utterly ridiculous." She sighed and looked at the ceiling. "Sex."

"Ha! Say it as in intercourse."

"Sex! There! I said it!"

He grinned like a kid who had outdone a teacher. Which, Piper realized, he did quite often.

"If the guys ever heard about this, you would never be able to show your face in public again."

"Who's going to tell them?" He lunged at her, making her squeak in shock and hold her glass far away to keep it from getting bumped. She set it on the floor behind her. "You?"

"N-no," she stammered, caught off-guard by his sudden closeness and the predatory look in his eyes.

"Good," he said, and she squeaked in horror when he kissed the corner of her mouth.

"You had a little bit of parsley there," he said, not even trying to sound serious.

"You're lying!" She glared at him, flustered and aroused and horrified all at once. "I can't believe you!"

"Um, I _am_ the Dark Ace." She stared at him so furiously that he laughed hard, leaning his head against her as she blushed and tried not to breathe in his intoxicating smell. "You're ridiculously entertaining, Piper."

"Well … you're not," she countered uselessly.

He rose to meet her eyes once more, the humor gone from his face. "Then let me kiss you again."

"A-ah-I-"

He interrupted her by briefly pushing his lips to hers. She drew back even further, blinking in disbelief. He leaned close and turned his gaze to her lips; a sign she took as one asking for permission.

She opened her mouth slightly and closed the gap between their faces.


	21. Thoughts

I'm posting this chapter from school because we've got laptops and wireless Internet now! And don't worry. Though school started again, I'll keep updating consistently. So get reading. :P

* * *

20: Thoughts

* * *

Heat.

Heat that spread through her like her blood was gasoline and his lips were fire.

He exhaled and kissed her again. Deeper. Slower.

Somehow her arms had gotten around his shoulders and her hands had found his back, and he made a sound that was terrifying and beautiful and he bore down on her harder.

The way his body against hers made the fire flare inside her was alarming, but the adrenaline only made her want to grip him tighter. Her nails digging through his shirt made him shudder and a low rumble came from his chest in reply. This frightened her even more.

When he slid his tongue over the break in her lips her body tried to break into a cold sweat. A frightened sound of protest escaped her mouth and she turned away abruptly, opening her eyes and panting. Her heart thudded in her ears as she struggled to regain control.

His breath was warm against her ear. "What's the matter?"

"I can't," she choked, squeezing her eyes shut. His heart thrummed against her chest and she said in anguish, "I just can't."

To her disbelief, instead of pushing her he heaved himself up on his elbows and then up on his hands. His face cracked into a hiss of pain and he rolled onto the bed beside her. He touched his stomach lightly, rendered wordless by the sharp ache.

The two lay side by side, panting and looking up at the ceiling.

After half a minute his gasping had subsided.

After a few minutes Piper's had also.

The two lay in quiet frustration for a long while. The one with the thick black hair and ruby eyes folded his hands behind his head as he always did when in thought, and the petite one with chocolate skin and eyes like suns crossed her hands over her stomach. When she was sure he was lost somewhere in his mind, she pressed two shaky fingers to her lips that were no longer unkissed.

"What are you thinking?"

The girl turned her head, blinking her yellow-orange eyes.

"I'm thinking…" taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and smiled. "I'm thinking about you, and the fact that I can't figure you out."

"I'm not an open book." This thought made him also smile. He did it while gazing at her. "I suppose that's good."

Piper opened her eyes, looking at the pretty chandelier in the middle of the bedroom. How could she not have noticed that before now?

"Dark Ace?"

"Hmm?" He blinked at her, and it made a tiny thrill run through her that she could so easily summon the whole of his attention.

"How close are you and Master Cyclonis?"

It was his turn to look at the ceiling. "Not very."

"Who is she closest to?"

It surprised her that he wasn't reluctant to answer. "Me."

"Does Ravess always harass you?"

The warrior grinned. "Yes."

Piper stretched and yawned. Sitting around all day had the strangest way of making you as tired as strenuous battle could.

His speculating stare was obvious against the side of her face. She closed her eyes and swallowed.

"What are you thinking about now?"

"About how annoying you are."

There was a pause. "Oh?"

"I've felt the same way about crystals before."

Again, a pause.

"_Oh?_"

"There's a semi-rare crystal called a Euphos Stone. It's named such because its chemical makeup includes elements that are activated by body heat and the chemicals released by human skin. It causes a sense of euphoria by triggering a release of endorphins upon contact."

"I'd never heard of it," he admitted.

Nodding, Piper said, "Mmmhmm. It's turquoise, and it's the most dense in the middle. When the light hits it, the structure of its faces make the light refract and creates a glittering effect all over the room."

"It sounds beautiful."

"It is. But it's frustrating, because I can't determine objectively whether I like it or not based on its characteristics, because the stone's very nature is so overpowering that it prevents you from _not _liking it."

"That's…"

He smiled in spite of himself.

"…a fascinating comparison."

"She was my best friend."

Puzzled, the commander looked at his captive once more.

"Cyclonis, I mean. For the short time we spent together. She was my best friend."

He looked down at the space between them, his mind amassed with thought.

"I always wonder if that was really her, or if she made up Lark's personality entirely."

"She said her name was Lark?"

At the sound of heightened interest in his voice she made eye contact. "Yeah."

He looked down again, his expression ambiguous. Suddenly he looked back up at her. "How's that head?"

"It hurts," she replied absentmindedly, still caught up in trying to analyze his curious behavior a moment before.

"Do you want me to check it for you?"

"Huh?" She blinked. "Oh- no, I mean- I have a headache because I'm just… confused."

"What are you confused about?"

Her striking eyes went back to the ceiling. The chandelier.

_And I guess I've known you for a long time too._

_You're my … best friend._

How long had she been here? Days? Weeks? Surely weeks. It _felt_ like weeks.

"What are the seven stages of grieving? I read about them."

"Anger, denial… bargaining…"

"Acceptance? Isn't that the last one?"

He shrugged. "That's four... Acceptance, anger, denial, bargaining… homicide …suicide…"

She giggled while simultaneously frowning in disdain.

"Hopefully I was wrong about the last two."

"So far it would seem that way."

When she looked at him she was amazed once again at how incredibly handsome he was. He softly said, "You're grieving?"

She smiled a little sadly. "Isn't that obvious?"

"I just thought you were very mentally unstable." She stuck her tongue out at him and he flicked her in the nose. "Don't stick your tongue out at me."

Piper stuck her tongue out at him again. He rolled over and jabbed her sides with his fingertips, startling her. She shrieked.

"That hurt!" He stared at her, looking annoyed, and for a second she was scared he was actually angry. She didn't know whether to be relieved or mad when he began tickling her, grinning maniacally. She screeched in anguish, squirming and trying to push his hands away. Even badly injured, his strength and his speed were impressive.

"Ouch," he grunted when she got ahold of his wrists, poking them unintentionally with her sharp nails.

"I'm going to run out of this room and tell everybody that the infamous Dark Ace tickles little girls in his spare time," she threatened, an unusual gleam of excitement flickering in her wide eyes.

"You'll do _no_ such thing." He stared at her in mock-outrage.

"Oh yeah?" She struggled when he tried to bear down against her strength to poke at her sides again. "Why shouldn't I?"

"Because," he said in a strained voice, and she squeaked in shock when he put his full weight on her, pushing her arms against the sheets. Before she could react he'd pressed his mouth to hers in a mind-numbing kiss. A wave of warmth rattled from her toes to her scalp. He released her lips far too soon and whispered, "you like me too much."

"I… ah…" She panted, eyes fluttering open as she tried to come up with a retort when he was breathing into her mouth and those molten eyes were scorching her own. He laughed a spine-chillingly wonderful laugh and leaned back, letting go of her hands.

He scooted back against the pillows and she sat up slowly, head spinning from at least half a million different things. She hoped he couldn't see the redness that was radiating off of her face. She touched her mouth again, amazed by the impact such an embrace had.

"I can't sleep in this shirt," he thought out loud, and he climbed off the bed and headed to his armoire.

Horror prickled under her skin as she followed his movements with her eyes, unable to look away. When he unzipped his jeans she swallowed nervously. They dropped around his ankles to reveal the longest, most perfect legs she'd ever seen. He found a pair of dark blue pajama pants and pulled them on over his boxers. She lifted a finger and opened her mouth to lecture him for kicking his jeans off and leaving them there, but then he pulled his shirt off and her jaw fell lower as her hand landed back in her lap.

The lamplight flickered off of his contours, bones and muscles rippling gracefully in time with one another as he pulled it over his head. His shoulders flexed as he slid the shirt off. She watched him stop, moving his hands almost thoughtfully as the black bunched up around his wrists and elbows.

"I remember when I was your age," he murmured.

Ice raced up her back as she turned her head to make her voice project as if she were looking away. "Do you?"

He was silent, squeezing the fabric that covered his palms.

When he turned around he startled her. He blinked. "Are you cold?"

Piper looked down at herself, seeing goosebumps. She looked up and he was still watching her. She nodded.

It unnerved her when he walked over. Something about the way the light slipped over his slender form gave her a tiny twinge of unease. He pulled the shirt off of his arms and fixed her in his stare. "Lift your arms."

For a split second she didn't know what he could possibly mean. Regardless, her fingers stretched high above her head almost without conscious control.

His shirt was thick and worn, and his knuckles brushed against her face as he pulled the neck of it over her head. It was warm, and its scent was strong. She looked up at him in surprise. A ghost of a smile passed over his face.

"It looks better on you."


	22. Blood

21: Blood

* * *

The halls of the _Condor_ rattled with the metallic sound of Stork clearing his throat. "Junko," he called into the intercom. "You can come out now."

The door opened and the Wallop looked around. "Guys? Where are you?"

When no response came, he walked a few paces away from the storage room. "Guys? Hello?"

The door from the bridge opened and a cacophony of scuffling and shouts made him jump. "There you are! I was starting to think- uhhh…"

The four let go of one another's various swatches of patchy clothing and body parts. Finn struggled to pull the giant black thing off of his face and Stork was frantically trying to put his on. Aerrow opened his mouth, but hadn't the slightest idea what to say.

"…what are you guys wearing?"

"Gas mas-"

Aerrow shoved the sharpshooter with the brunt of his palm, knocking him off balance and sending him crashing to the floor. "It's- ah- um, a new… fashion statement!"

"It is?" Junko blinked at his sky knight, bewildered.

"Yeah! Stork made them. We're just trying them out," he lied. Finn sat up, scowling, and Radarr gawked at him from Aerrow's shoulder through the visor of his own tiny mask. "-Uh, but we didn't make you one yet, so Stork's gonna get right on that."

"Um, what?" The Merb narrowed his eyes at the redhead. "If he can't tell what they're for, he obviously doesn't need one…"

"Yeah!" agreed Finn. "I never get grossed out by my own far-"

"Go on," Aerrow interrupted loudly, still attempting to keep Junko's feelings from being hurt. He patted Stork on the shoulder. "Make Junko one too."

Stork glared daggers at the knight, fighting the urge to complain about having just put all his tools away. "Fine," he snapped.

The Wallop charged toward the bridge, causing the whole ship to rattle and groan in protest. Once he'd passed the four, Stork shot one more reproachful look at Aerrow before stalking after him.

Finn peered in to the room, ice-blue eyes widening. "Is he alive?"

Aerrow followed his friend, Radarr wrapped around his neck like a feather boa. As he approached, the Cyclonian groaned, cracking his eyes open.

"That was only a small taste of what we've got in store for you," Finn loudly said, crossing his arms and trying to look intimidating.

"Wha-"the man broke into a feeble cough. "What to you want from me?"

"Tell us who commanded the attack on the _Condor_ ten days ago," said Aerrow.

"Just let me go, please. Don't bring the Wallop back."

"We will unless you tell us," countered Finn. Radarr growled menacingly to punctuate the marksman's statement.

"Can I just have something to drink? I ran out of supplies and I-"

"Tell us first."

The talon glared at the redhead. "Why should I?"

"Because one of you took my friend," Aerrow replied hotly.

"Ha! So you think I'm just going to spill everything?"

"Yes!" Finn said uselessly.

"Just _tell_ us why you attacked us. We're nowhere near Cyclonian territory. Who commanded the strike? Ravess? Snipe?"

"Stupid kid," the talon growled.

Without warning the knight charged, drawing an arm back and swinging it at the Cyclonian. Finn shouted and Radarr squawked in alarm, but their voices paled in comparison to the sharp crack that Aerrow's knuckles made against the talon's face. The chair toppled backward and the man howled in pain, his head banging loudly against the steel of the floor.

"Aerrow, what are you doing?" Finn darted to his leader's side and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Let _go of me_," he snapped, jerking away from the sharpshooter. Radarr leapt from the boy's shoulders, backing toward the door with wide eyes. Aerrow turned his stare back to the Cyclonian, his face against the floor and a stream of red gushing from his crooked nose. The knight shouted so loudly that Finn flinched. _"Where's Piper?"_

"D-Dark Ace," he choked, his eyes squeezed shut behind his red-tinted goggles.

Recoiling as if he'd been hit, Aerrow's blazing eyes went wide with shock. "What?"

"Dark Ace," the talon repeated, his voice thick with pain. Blood streamed onto the floor as saliva dripped from the edge of his mouth. "We were ordered to separate the girl from the rest of- he said having her gone would destroy-" he coughed and groaned in fearful agony. "-the Storm Hawks…"

Aerrow stepped back, his jaw dropping. For a long moment, the air was painfully empty of noise.

Slowly the leader's mouth started moving. "Tell…" He turned toward Finn, and his expression was one of sheer desperation. "Tell Stork to get us there."

The sharpshooter nodded wordlessly. His footsteps were loud and clanking as he sprinted toward the bridge.

Turning back toward the talon, Aerrow blinked. "I'm…" He raised his gloved hand and stretched his fingers, staring in horror at the dark crimson staining the fabric. "I'm sorry…"

"Stork's plotting a course to Cyclonia," Finn said, rushing past Radarr with Junko in tow. The Wallop dropped the first aid kit beside the talon and began to untie his ankles, saying something encouraging as the man groaned. "Come on."

The sky knight looked up at his friend whose hand was lightly on his shoulder once more. He nodded, and walked with Finn into the hallway.

-xXxXx-

"I'm really sorry about all this. Aerrow's not usually grumpy like that."

The bandaged-up talon ignored the Wallop.

"He's usually a lot nicer. But, y'know, you _are_ a Cyclonian."

For a long moment there was silence.

"Who knows? Maybe it's just because no talon has ever had the guts to stand up to him before. And… he's really worried about Piper."

The man ignored him.

"She disappeared once or twice before, but never for this long. Piper is amazing. She's a great cook and she cleans everything up when we make messes, and she uses this soap on our clothes that smells like strawberries! And if I help her wash the dishes, she sometimes even reads me bedtime stories."

Though Junko didn't notice it, the talon's eyes flickered closer to him in the quiet that followed.

"I _love_ Piper. She's like a sister and a friend and a mom. All in one person." The wallop swished his feet back and forth, making the bed rattle when his ankles bumped it. "We all love her. Finn doesn't act like it and Stork's too shy to say it. But she's really important to everybody. Especially Aerrow.

"Sometimes…"

The talon was looking at him now.

"Sometimes I think that Aerrow loves her in a different way."

A grunt issued from the Cyclonian's throat.

Blinking, the Wallop turned toward the man.

He stared at the floor. His voice crackled to life slowly in his struggle to keep from injuring his broken nose more.

"That's what Dark Ace thought too. That's why he took her."

The Storm Hawk's eyes were wide as he stared at the prisoner. Eventually he turned his gaze to the floor, thinking.

The two sat silently on Junko's bed, the Wallop holding his teddy bear and the talon in a pair of oversized pajamas, his face covered in medical tape and gauze and his wrists cuffed together.

* * *

I hope this can count as Junko's flashback/reverie. Personally, I think it's more important than the others thus far. And I'm really excited about where this is going.

Please review and let me know what you think. I can't wait to finish the next chapter… see you again soon!


	23. The Dress

Holy poo. I must be doing something right. Thank you so much for all the reviews and especially for all the enthusiasm.

I had a dream that these little fat naked men came out of the cornfield behind our house and were chanting something in another language. Then it turned into a Wal-Mart commercial, but all the employees were played by celebrities. Then it just turned into a documentary on pet monkey attacks. That made me a little peeved, because I was in it, and I'm not partial to getting attacked by monkeys.

ANYWAY, here's the new chapter!

* * *

22: The Dress

* * *

"I am Piper."

She stared at her reflection. She blinked.

Again she tried.

"I am Piper."

Her reflection gave her a dubious look. That's _it? _it asked. Two syllables. One word. Five letters.

Was that all she amounted to?

"I'm Piper," she tried. Yet it sounded more ludicrous than before.

_Piper of the Storm Hawks._

It sounded beautiful. It sounded professional. It answered more than the mandatory "who." It made her sound like someone you should have heard of before.

_Oh, you're _that_ Piper!_

But without it?

"I'm Piper," she said softly.

Two syllables.

One word.

Five letters.

Piiii-perrrr. Her brain played it slow, fast. Backward. In different languages. ¡Hola! Me llamo Piper. No soy de los halcones de la tormenta. Solo Piper. Guten tag!

I-may ame-nay is-ay Iper-pay.

The girl tried a big, cheesy grin. "Iper-pay!"

Her stomach churned in reply. She swallowed, putting a hand to her abdomen. She caught the edge of the counter when she began feeling dizzy.

Maybe he _had_ rescued her. She didn't have proof otherwise. But…

But would they really abandon her?

She knew them. They couldn't.

Wouldn't.

If only the details would find her. They were so out of reach.

What had _happened_ that day?

Piper closed her eyes and reached. Reached as hard as she could. But it was like reaching into an empty, black murk. Patient, quiet shapes moved to and fro, so close that she could smell them; see their words spilling from their mouths. But when she brought the clamps down and commanded forth names and places, the thickness of the shapes dissolved into grainy, cobwebby liquid that spilled hollowly through the sieve at the lowest point in her mind.

Cocoa-colored fingers brushed across aching temples and Piper exhaled slowly.

She was frustrated.

She was tired.

And then a chill ran through her because she realized that she had never felt this way before.

She was exhausted inside. Weary. Like those people she'd see while she was shopping with Stork and scolding Finn when he'd sneak toys and expensive hair gel and bikini magazines into the cart. They always wore nice clothes, but they had dark circles under their eyes, and they looked so profoundly sad that it made her stop and stare and wonder how life could ever be awful enough to make somebody so miserable.

Stepping back, she looked over herself. Slim and dark. His black sweater was several sizes too big and hung down past her hips. The deep v-neck showed a little of the gray shirt beneath it, and the white athletic shorts hung down a little past her knees. Her hair had gotten a little longer and had consequently become heavier. Her bangs draped on either side of her face, and the careful, blow-dried shocks of hair that she bundled together with her headband now trailed down past her shoulders.

This wasn't her.

It was someone alien.

The cupboards were all almost bare with the few necessities- toothpaste, cologne, a comb, nail clippers. Shaving cream and… she didn't want to know what the box was shoved way in the back of the cupboard under the sink.

Where _were_ they?

The girl walked out to the carpeted bedroom-area. The place seemed unfamiliar without him in it. It was beautiful, but not cozy. And she hated how her mood plummeted without the distraction he provided.

She began opening the drawers of his wardrobe. And the less success she had in finding her old clothes, the more anxious she became to locate them.

It was in the last drawer- she had almost overlooked it. But beneath the folded pairs of boxers she saw a glimpse of something - pink.

Now all too aware that he could come back at any moment and probably wouldn't like her snooping around, Piper quickly and carefully pulled out the stack of underwear.

_Finally._

The flash of pale rose was the edge of the pair of panties she'd been wearing the first day in Cyclonia. She smiled as she picked them up and found her shirt also. She pulled it out and pressed her face to it. Though it was a little disappointing to smell his detergent and not the cheap fruity soap she used on the _Condor_, the worn fabric was comforting to feel once more.

She looked back down and saw only something black, so she grabbed it and pulled it back to look beneath it for the rest of her old outfit.

The fabric in her hands was wonderfully soft. Pausing a moment in her search, she inspected it more closely.

It was velvety and long. She pulled it higher, and still the bottom of it pooled in the drawer.

"What _is_ this?"

Standing up, the girl found her answer.

It was a dress.

Her first inclination was to picture the Cyclonian in it, which made her laugh a little. The sound was small, though, and she swallowed when a lump appeared in her throat.

Her next thought was that it looked like it would fit her. And that led her to wonder…

No. Of course not.

After standing for a long while and staring at it, she gathered it up over one arm and took it into the bathroom. She hurried in case he'd be back soon, folding up her dirty clothes and setting them on the edge of the counter. The fabric was beautifully soft as it slid over her skin and it hung down just above her knees. Was it a nightgown? She wasn't sure. She smoothed the creases out, took a deep breath, and turned to face the mirror.

She felt a way she was positive she shouldn't feel.

Good.

Her tiny, willowy curves she'd so closely associated with patches of protective leather, worn scoat fleece, and plain functionality didn't seem like hers anymore.

This simple dress hugged her young figure, bunched everywhere it should and flowed away just enough to conceal her within its fabric safety. Her legs were so long and her ankles so narrow … her small biceps curved gracefully in the absence of detached sleeves and her collarbone and long neck were so wonderfully pleasing to look at that she almost felt guilty.

All of a sudden, Piper saw somebody foreign in the un-smudged mirror. Somebody almost too overwhelmingly beautiful to be human, let alone her. Though nobody in the free part of the Atmos wore anything this elegant, there really wasn't anything _wrong_ with it, and though there was nothing revealing about this dress, she felt sinful for being this aesthetically pleasing.

And for the first time in approximately ten days, the girl's face was lit with a real smile.

"I'm…"

The sound of his voice froze her in horror and shock.

"…impressed."

Too embarrassed to meet his eyes, Piper stared numbly at herself in the mirror. Her skin crawled at being caught. Her heart pounded against her chest and her face flushed with heat.

The ghostly shadow of him fell onto her, and now she couldn't look in the mirror. Her eyes rested numbly on her feet.

Somehow Piper anticipated his hand falling on her shoulder. The situation simply merited that occurring next in the sequential order of events.

So shock froze her when his fingers skirted the base of her scalp, then cupped the side of her head gingerly. The tender bundle of nerves tightened in response and she bit back a gasp, squeezing her eyes shut. Half of her was frightened beyond thought.

The other half wondered how on earth he knew where she longed to be touched.

"I'm surprised you found that," he murmured softly.

"Please," she begged weakly, her stomach knotting up inside her. "Stop."

The hand on her face turned her head, forcing her conflicted yellow eyes to meet his seemingly impassive stare.

Of course she didn't want him to stop. But it scared her nonetheless.

"You look good," he murmured, and a shadow of a smile tried to flash across his features.

"What … what do you…"

What do you _mean?_

What do you _want?_

"Beautiful."

Finally, an eerie smirk crept across his face. It was so beautiful that it made her blood run cold.

For some incomprehensible reason, she realized that somehow time had skipped from when her fingers were twitching at her side, mind trapped in high-strung debate, to when her small, delicate hand was closing over the smooth joints of his fingers.

"What is it?" He flexed his hand beneath her own, pulling half a dozen strings inside her. One that made her eyes flutter. One that made her lips part. One that made her suck in air; one that made her feel warm all over in her stomach. "Does that feel good?"

He required no audible answer. _Of course it did._

"A … h-he-" She stuttered as his thumb set off a rippling line of sparking nerve cells under her hair.

"What's wrong?" he asked, voice quiet. "Is _he_ supposed to be the one who makes you feel like this?"

_Please_, she begged. _Don't say his name_.

"Aerrow?"

A million stabs of pain much smaller than she had expected made Piper open her sorrowful eyes. _Why did you say that?_

"Sky knights and squadron members can't engage in intimate relationships," came the knight's code of honor, tumbling from her mouth in impassive, official font. But the touch almost could have been sky knight's. Contact where his was supposed to be. Yet the fingers on the invisible handprint marking the location where Aerrow was to caress her weren't pale ivory. They were a dusky olive. Longer and narrower. And Aerrow's gentle gaze was instead a red one of almost-hidden pity.

He stroked her face, ran his nails through her hair as she curled up beneath him on his sheets. Tears of exhaustion and loneliness and fate double-crossing itself to prevent her from ever being with her beloved welled within her sunset-colored eyes, poured down the sides of her face, and ripped sobs from deep in her chest.

Mouth sliding over her flesh, he gingerly kissed the streaks of salt water from her cheekbones. He cupped her face in his broad hand, and as her cries subsided, his lips wandered over the bridge of her nose and pressed a trail of gentle caresses across the arch of either eyebrow. Somehow she was able to ignore the guilt that welled within her when she wrapped her arms around his strong back and pulled him close.

He smelled like sweat and spices.

His hair felt smooth and waxy as the thick strands brushed her forehead.

His chest was warm and sturdy as it sheltered her in its shadow.

Somehow, the little navigator found it acceptable to put this toward something she held for the Cyclonian; something somewhat resembling respect and very much like trust.

Somehow this was enough evidence to make her feel safe enough to press herself against him, only allowing for enough air to breathe between their faces. Somehow it justified closing her eyes while he still lay awake, his ruby gaze lingering on her.

Somehow Piper fell asleep, fingers twined with the Dark Ace's, her knees against the material of his pajama pants and her heart completely unguarded.


	24. The Stars

23: The Stars

* * *

It was cold, but it was a cozy kind of cold. One that made you feel small and safe.

The stars that peppered the sky seemed few at first- but the longer she stared, the more numerous they seemed to become. The brightest and closest ones were joined by smaller specks of light, and she could swear she could tell the difference between the cooler red ones and the blazing-hot ice blues.

Beautiful.

The wind swirled around them, and she pulled her jacket closer around herself. Her bangs swished over her eyes and a whiff of the Condor's exhaust blew up onto the deck. She had come to love the oily, smoky smell.

After all, it was the smell of home.

"It's amazing, isn't it?"

She smiled a little- pulled her jacket tighter. "Yeah."

She'd never admit it to herself, but she loved the feeling of him beside her. For a little while she'd been trying to listen to him breathe. And every once in a while, a gust of wind would rise up from a different direction and she'd inhale his familiar smell. The last time had been about seven minutes ago. She had gotten goosebumps.

There was something about being with him that made her forget. She didn't know where she was; she didn't know where she was going. And there was something about him that made her not care.

She was here, with him.

And that was all that mattered.

There was something about him that made her feel like she could do anything. She almost wanted to reach out, to touch one of those stars. To feel its billions of degrees caressing her fingertips like fairy dust.

She wanted to turn to him, to take him in her arms. She wanted to bury her face against his neck and just breathe in his warmth. She wanted to be his and only his forever. And with him, forever didn't seem incomprehensible at all.

"Aerrow?"

"Hmm?"

He looked at her, beautiful green eyes luminous in the moonlight.

Striking.

She smiled and looked at her hands. An odd, fluttery feeling worked its way through her stomach.

"Never mind."

"Oh. Okay."

She could feel him looking at her as she turned her fiery gaze back to the stars.

She could feel him smiling.

Finally his eyes joined hers in the sky. Two tiny, wondering people who would never fully comprehend the vastness of what they admired. Two crusaders in the battle for freedom for their world. And yet they were only microscopic specks on one of the billions of heavenly bodies that hung in the silent emptiness of space.

She wanted to snuggle against him, wrap herself up in his arms. But it was already an honor to be his friend. To be standing not five inches away from him when incomprehensible miles stretched across the scape of all existence. There was no hurry when what she already had was something she cherished with all her heart.

Besides, with Aerrow, forever was nothing.

-xXxXx-

She awoke from this dream with her delicate hands clenched into fists; with little crescent-moons of blood on the paper-thin skin of either palm. Rings of sticky, hot tears made the skin of her eyelids feel swollen, and there was a coppery taste of waning nausea around her teeth.

Pushing herself up onto her elbows, she wiped her mouth. Her lips were chapped and her hair was stuck to them. With a shaky sigh she closed her eyes and rolled over.

Her hand whapped against the cool silk of the bedspread.

Opening her eyes, Piper looked at the empty spot where he should've been.

Dizzy from standing up too fast, she stumbled to the bathroom. The door was partially ajar. She pulled it open to find the room empty. She turned to the carpet and went to the kitchen. She roamed uselessly around the island, finding him absent there too.

"Where are you?" she asked the elaborate, empty rooms. Off giving orders to some fleet of brainless talons; off trying to tell Snipe to quit letting his temper get the best of him; off with Cyclonis.

Her fists clenched in unexpected anger.

Off following her orders.

Off… chatting with her?

Her teeth gritted together in her skull now and her stomach went into a spasm of disgust.

Making her smile?

Making her _laugh?_

A possessiveness unfamiliar to the girl filled her and she stared at the floor helplessly.

Was Cyclonis even capable of laughter?

The intelligent eyes of Lark dazzled in her mind's eye; the imprint of the friend that never was. Months hadn't dulled the sharp knife-twist in her stomach that came every time she thought of that face. How _dare_ that witch.

The tactician's mind began to whir furiously; building solutions, building retaliations. She wasn't going to let Cyclonis rob her of what she had only begun to grasp hold of.

Piper sighed, crossing her arms tightly over the frantic fluttering in her stomach. How stupid. How childish. The Dark Ace didn't belong to her. He belonged to nobody.

"Especially not Cyclonis," she heard herself snap.

The girl turned from the kitchen, freeing an arm to rub at a swollen, tearstained eye. She desperately needed a distraction. From the thought that somewhere, somehow, there was a family of five, drifting through the skies in their immense metal ship, as if the missing girl had never been there at all.

She wondered what he had told them. That she had left – that something had come up. She tried to imagine his revulsion, his disbelief. _She_ likes _me? Where in Atmos did _that_ come from?_

How stupid she must have looked, smiling at him every day like she knew he loved her back. How idiotic.

A wave of humiliation and anger washed over her, and she turned abruptly from where she'd been pacing. The fridge greeted her with a cold hum when she yanked the door open, and her ocher eyes flicked across the shelves of ambiguous, unnamed containers. She found something that she was positive was wine and grabbed it, slamming the fridge door behind her and clacking the bottle loudly against the counter. The cork was stubborn, but she pulled hard enough that it popped off and rolled away on the floor beside her feet. She swallowed at the lump in her throat and raised the bottle, grazing her tongue over the rim of expensive glass.

The bitter liquid crashed into her mouth and she pulled the bottle away, gagging in shock. What _was_ it?

Eyes watering, Piper wiped her lips with her wrist and set the wine on the counter to search for the cork. Maybe it was because it was so cold. Didn't you have to let it have exposure to the air before drinking it?

The anxious guilt and shame tingled ever harder in the back of her head as she put the bottle away and turned to face the room, head aching and heart numb.

The dress pooled around her ankles as she let it go and stepped onto the cold tiles of the bath. She turned the hot water knob all the way on and stared for a long minute at the glossy reflections it made of her fingers. The scalding water pooled lazily around her feet and crept further, but the nerves screaming at her seemed disconnected somehow, as if in a faraway world. In a dreamlike stupor she watched the five dainty, brown fingers move to the other knob, tempering the painful heat with cool. The deafening buzz of pain slowly receded, and she sat back, unaware of the way the water pooled around her back and her wrists. She barely realized that she was lying down in the shallow warmth, and it almost seemed like the inner monologue that began as a flicker of a thought and grew rapidly into a raging turmoil wasn't hers at all.

The confusion swung back and forth like thick, heavy stones tied to strings- like a pendulum -but as the water spattered against her and sobs wracked her body and the pain washed over in waves, her mind was tangled, blurred. Things were unraveling.

Of course he was evil. Of course. But did it matter? If Aerrow didn't want her, then she was no longer his. He had handed her back the key to her heart; her very being. It was now hers to do with as she pleased.

After all, she was only Piper. Not Piper the Storm Hawk, Piper the Mother. She was just one little girl. The gash in her heart was no longer shared. She bled her own blood. Only she bore the repercussions of her choices now. And if she was no Storm Hawk, then she was nothing. A mere girl was a small price to pay for the bitter hatred owed to he who had broken her heart.

_Aerrow does not want me._

And if Aerrow didn't love her, the only person whose standards she valued had named her as worthless.

She didn't matter.

Nothing mattered.

And still the pain and the humiliation overtook her; wrapped her in a swath of misery and agony.

Beautiful Aerrow… selfless Aerrow. So strong and brave. So stoic. So flawless.

Her chosen one.

Her beloved.

_How stupid I was to think I'd be good enough for him._

How dare she insult him by being so foolish.

_I trust you more than Junko, and Finn of course, and even Stork. You just seem to be … I don't know._

She laughed bitterly, amazed by her sudden flawless recollection of the conversation that had been her damnation.

"On the same wavelength as me."

And now the hurt was so overwhelming that she knew if she didn't stop it somehow it would be the death of her. She shoved herself up on one elbow, then slipped with a loud squeak and smacked her jaw against the floor. Gasping in pain, she sat up and felt her mouth. She'd cut her cheek with her teeth.

Pathetic.

Even then when she was sure there was no energy left inside her to cry, a hideous, raking sob scraped up from her lungs and her reddened eyes stung as she tightened her arms around her ribs.

The retched misery was so thick that she didn't care when his shadow enveloped her. Her head swam with blood when he dragged her into a standing position, and her arms were limp when he tugged them upward to wrap her in a towel.

Even when he dropped her on his sheets, ruby eyes burning gloriously as his arms interlaced behind her back, she felt no relief. She didn't feel the admiration coming off of him in waves, nor did she see how transfixed he was with her beauty. She barely felt it when he pulled away, his rough palm ghosting over her cheek.

Her golden irises rimmed with bloodshot pink were striking, even through the pain swimming in them.

A tiny spark of vibration penetrated the shell she was in. He slid his fingertips up the delicate curve of her leg, testing, questioning what she would allow. She closed her eyes and breathed. He watched her face and slid his hand higher.

A slow, shaking breath escaped her mouth. He looked at her lips. At her throat as she swallowed.

"I am forsaken, Dark Ace."

Her golden orbs of eyes flashed up to his. Beautiful but without hope.

"No you aren't."

His nails traced the flawless beauty of her skin.

"I'm here."

For a long moment she watched him, resigned. Unbetraying of her thoughts.

"What good is that?"

She scooted closer, not noticing the surprise on his face. She pressed her forehead into the softness of his shirt and wrapped her arms around his back.

Curling his hand around her leg, he pressed his fingers to her hair. She sighed onto his neck.

Finally he swallowed and answered her.

"I don't know."

* * *

"I've been reading this recently, and I've got to say, it's definitely one of the best fanfics on this site." –Anthropophagicopropheliac

"You write this paring so well - I love it. You're an awesome writer." –SassyGirl104

"Wow, just great work … this stuff is good enough to be the actual show!" –JoeZep

"OH MY GOD, THIS CHAPTER WAS AWESOME." –Without Reprieve

"You have Dark Ace's personality down!" –Glamorous Foxx

* * *

Hey! Guess who! I'm really sorry for the delay – five months… I can't believe it. I just finished my senior year of high school, and I've been ridiculously busy with it. Also, in November, I fell in love with Invader Zim. It completely ate my soul for a while.

I actually got a message from Andy Poon (the art director and character designer of Storm Hawks) a little while ago. He said he'd been watching Storm Hawks and that it reminded him of me. IT reminded HIM of ME. I almost died. It was such an honor! He's totally easygoing and cool, so when I talk to him I try not to act like the crazed fangirl that I am.

Thank you guys **so much** for your support and enthusiasm for my dumb story. I can't believe it. It's so great to be able to do something for fellow SH fans. I can't guarantee how often I'll be updating, though I'll try to as often as I can, but I'm committing to working on this fanfic. So after almost half a year, let's get this fic rolling again. :D


	25. Mistake

**A/N**: There is a massive tornado coming that's currently about 10 minutes away from my house. I put all our pets in the basement and Mom's on her way home from work now. I wasn't going to post this chap for a little while yet to build up suspense, but in case the very worst were to happen (though it won't) I want you guys to have this much of the story.

(If I die, tell Xekstrin or Elocinaqui to finish it.) :P

That said, here you go...

* * *

24: Mistake

* * *

The wind howled against his frame, battering him with icy punches and sucking the air from his chest. He glanced back through the wide, curving window, to see Stork watching him with worried eyes. Finn was sitting in one of the seats behind the helm, tapping his feet. Only Junko wasn't present.

He looked back ahead into the raging sky. The near-black clouds continued to pelt the ship with tiny droplets of condensation, and every few minutes the thunder would roar below. This low-pressure front was immense, and all other airships, even other cruisers, were grounded. Only one metal body still hurtled through the sky.

Only one family was missing their last member.

The sharpshooter's eyes flicked from his feet to the carrier pilot, wide with childlike fear. Stork gazed ahead, his expression a solemn one as he gripped the controls, watching his leader.

Aerrow was unaware of the knots his muscles had become from his rigid grip on the railing and he didn't feel the dried blood of the enemy on his hand. The relentless howl of angry wind that curled around groaning metal and knocked the ship to and fro as if it were a toy barely grazed his psyche. He felt nor saw any of it.

Only her.

The quiet brilliance of her wide-eyed smile and the glow of the sun on her slender legs.

The smell of her skin

(that night)

when he knew that he would never be complete without her.

It was cold that night - the kind of cold that seemed to freeze the clouds into the darkness. The kind that kept the floor so icy that it hurt to walk on it even with the heaters up as high as they would go.

He couldn't sleep.

He held his eyes closed until shapes shifted on the backs of his eyelids - until they morphed into monsters, demons, that flickered in and out of focus; squirming silhouettes that writhed to the dripping of the pipes overhead.

Seconds passed slowly. Grudgingly. As if time itself had grown weary of performing its eternal act of progression.

Sweat dotted his forehead.

Movement. A harsh exhale.

He rested his face in his hands, feeling the click in his throat.

His feet hurt and his back hurt and his head was throbbing vengefully.

Familiar hallways seemed shrouded in darkness. Silence became grainy, whooshing beats moving in time with the blood moving sluggishly through his ears.

The couch grunted haplessly beneath him as he fell onto it, digging his fingers into his hair as he willed the pain away. He _hated_ these nights.

He hated the way his mind worked when he couldn't shut it down.

And he could feel that familiar ghost of a thought worming its way up through his subconscious, climbing into his thoughts. Infecting him until there was a lump in his throat and his eyes were cloudy and his stomach was wrenched up inside him.

He could feel her coming before he could hear it. There was a familiar warmth - a softness - that filled him when she was near. He had enough time to get his breathing back to normal before her weight rested beside him and her pretty, gentle voice chimed.

"Hey Aerrow."

A swallow, a long, even breath. He looked up, smiling. "Hey Piper."

"Is everything okay?"

(Of course not.)

He smiled again, vaguely. "I'll be fine."

"You know you can tell me anything, Aerrow."

He closed his eyes, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Am I a good leader?"

Her expression was indignant. "Of course."

"Do you think we're a good squadron?"

She answered him solemnly. "The best."

He sighed. The _Condor_ clacked mutedly around them.

"It's not easy sometimes. You know-" He nodded a little. "-when everybody tells you you're not good enough."

Her hand was warm and smooth against his shoulder and the scent of strawberries grew stronger when she leaned close.

"You can't let them get to you, Aerrow."

He gazed at his hands, silent.

"There are a lot of people who don't believe in us. They think we're just kids. They think we're just playing a game by doing what we do. But they're wrong."

She lightly squeezed his shoulder.

"I know it. Finn and Stork know it. Even Junko knows it. But we _are_ doing everything we can to stop Cyclonia. We're going to defeat them. I think _you_ know that too."

Aerrow smiled, ever unaware of how handsome he looked. "Thanks, Piper. It's just that…"

Suddenly that lump in his throat was back, bigger. Tears sprang to his eyes and the words tangled themselves up in his mouth.

"…sometimes I wonder if my dad would be proud of me."

His vision was blurry and he gave up trying not to cry. He was too ashamed to look at her face.

"Can we ever be the Storm Hawks that they were?" He sobbed, hard. His head throbbed angrily as he tightened his hands around it. "Can I ever be good enough to honor him?"

The Condor seemed silent now, unable to find any mechanical response to the words he had just uttered. Seconds ticked by: one, two… painfully slow.

"Aerrow-" her voice was surprised and bewildered.

He sobbed again, and she squeezed tightly.

"Aerrow, look at me."

Those eyes were brilliant in the dim light. He could've sworn that no sunrise had ever been as striking.

"You are the best sky knight I have ever met. You're the best _person_ I've ever met." She leaned closer, stare almost overpowering. "Sometimes I don't think we deserve a leader as kind and brave as you are. And … sometimes … I don't think I deserve a friend like you."

"Piper-"

"No. Listen."

He hiccupped pitifully, struggling to regain control of himself.

"You gave us a _purpose, _Aerrow. You gave us something to fight for. And when we had nobody, you made us a family. You gave us _everything_."

She was crying now too. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and rested his cheek on her shoulder.

"Don't you _ever forget_ how much you mean to us." She shook him, her nails digging into his skin. "Don't you _ever_ think you're not good enough."

Neither of them spoke for a long time.

She was so warm and fragrant. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe as her long fingers moved soothingly over his back. There was nothing in that moment that mattered anymore, nothing but her. He knew then that she was all he needed - all he could ever ask for.

He knew then that he would never want for anything again if she was here with him.

"You all right?"

Aerrow looked up, startled.

Finn's yellow hair was whipping back, his hands tight on the railing against the force of the wind.

Aerrow stared at him wordlessly, comforted a little by the fear he saw reflected on his friend's face.

_You just seem to be … I don't know._

_On the same wavelength as me._

"I … I'll be fine. As soon as we find her."

Finn gazed at the knight, then smiled for a moment. "Okay."

The redhead mirrored the sharpshooter's smile for a minute before he turned to look at the sky.

"We'll get her back, Finn. We have to." The blonde watched him silently.

"I have a mistake to fix."

-xXxXx-

She sobbed into his chest, long and hard. She had no one.

She had nothing.

The dark warmth of him became shape as she slid her hands over his shoulders and locked them around his neck. He stroked her hair as she cried.

Piper wept until her throat was raw and her eyes were dry. She breathed in and it felt like needles lined the walls of her chest, and when she breathed out, her sides ached. His heart beat against her cheek. It thumped and thumped, a rhythmic throb against her face, a calming pulse beneath her wrists. She turned her eyes to him, burning yellow inside exhausted red. "Dark Ace," she whispered hollowly.

His eyes were full of promise as he blinked at her. "What do you want me to do?"

His heart pulsed and Piper gazed at him, empty. "Hold me."

His arms were strong around her and his slender fingers curved into her skin. He molded her stomach to his own and slid his fingers into her hair.

Piper sighed. Her eyes closed. "Kiss me."

The warrior leaned his forehead against her forehead, midnight blue tangled into black. His lips were warm against hers. Her insides twisted as he opened his mouth and pulled, and when she ran her fingers down his back, he made a noise deep in his throat.

Breaking his mouth from hers, he gasped for air. For a minute red locks and green eyes flickered onto his features and Piper immediately pushed them away. Her arms came around his strong shoulders, her lips against his beautiful throat. He made another sound and his grip tightened on her.

The girl opened her heated eyes, meeting his glazed red ones without fear.

"Love me."


	26. The Sin

25: The Sin

* * *

Electric.

Sparking in the tender spot between her shoulders and shooting to her stomach.

Lighting the breaks where the icy emptiness of the room collided with the heat of his breath.

Rattling down her back when his eyelashes brushed her skin and illuminating the darkness in tiny bursts where his slender fingers dug in against her scalp.

Her heart was pumping faster, beating heavily against the useless lungs trapping it in her chest.

His mouth moved against hers and all thought was knocked back by a barrage of dangerously addictive heat.

The noise she felt herself make terrified her distantly as he pulled her possessively against him, his breath flooding her senses as he pulled back to burn into her blurry mind with his horrifically beautiful eyes.

Fire.

The kind of chemical reaction that can only be created by two hearts fluttering against one another between two layers of skin that are all but melting off.

She shuddered as she felt his stomach against her, felt herself wrapped around him, nails and knees anchoring tight to his frame.

He let out a soft sound against her mouth and her head swam with blackness when he gripped the small of her back, her ribs flush with his.

The sudden whir of heightened intensity when his tongue found hers and he was shifting to accommodate the ache beginning to stir in his core.

A horrid vulnerability overtook her when he rose to his knees, lips leaving hers and wandering slowly down her jaw, coaxing a moan from her as they gingerly caressed the place between her neck and shoulder. A powerlessness she wasn't familiar with when her lips parted at the feeling of his teeth, her cheek against his hair as she tried to stay upright.

The feeling of cold sheets and hot skin meeting as he hungrily kissed down the cords in her neck, nipped at the tender skin of her collarbone. Unparalleled delight as he gasped for breath against her stomach, fire radiating off of him as if he were something suspended, ablaze, in outer space, as opposed to a tiny creature on one of those many bodies.

The flurry of movement as he supported her with one hand, teeth and tongue on her mouth again as she shuddered against his lean body.

The spark of fear as he pulled her against him once more, languidly nipping at the spot beneath her ear as his hands roamed up her sides.

The sudden indescribable heat as the warrior moaned into her ear, struggling to restrain himself.

Pain.

An impossibly immense ache that threatened to tear her apart, coaxing hot tears from between her eyelashes and a groan from low in his throat. The feel of his whisper against her cheek, begging her to breathe.

And then the horrid epiphany; the realization that the tautness was melting from her shoulders and the back of her neck as teeth raked over her flesh and shaking hands clutched her to him.

The way the ceiling seemed to be alive; watching her every movement as her fingers and toes dug into the sheets as she gasped.

The way his mouth moved with hers, as if they were two halves of one whole.

The way it felt as her one final shred of innocence pulled silently away; fluttering off into the breeze without her sparing it a moment's remorse.

Piper never knew that one could feel so whole – so complete.

So at peace.

The sweat glistened on his perfect shape as he gazed down at her, his eyes like melted ruby. He smelled like human and warmth and safety.

He tasted like wine.

She nestled against him, closing her eyes and brushing her lips against his smooth skin. She shuddered as his arms enveloped her.

The Dark Ace sighed as he held her, bloody eyes drifting to the shadows overhead.

He was silent as sleep pulled her under.


	27. Disgust

26: Disgust

* * *

She opened her eyes when she heard him enter. They were bloodshot and the corner of her mouth was wet with overflowing saliva. Her knuckles were pale and her knees were pressed to her chest. Her ankles were covered in ugly red crescents that had scabbed over and been punctured again by the edges of her nails.

Never before had she felt so empty. So wretched. So utterly disgusting.

She had cried until she couldn't cry anymore, and now the navigator of the Storm Hawks lay, crumpled, her face against the glossy coating of the bathtub floor.

Horror and nausea crept up her throat as his soft footsteps drew nearer. Her muscles tightened until she feared she'd completely cramp up. She was terrified of him. She hated him.

And as she turned her head and met his cool eyes, she knew that she loved him more.


	28. Oblivion

27: Oblivion

* * *

He knelt beside her and his fingers were warm and strong against her cheek. She gave an exhausted, shaking sob as she leaned into his touch.

Hollow amber eyes flickered up to glorious ruby and he leaned to press his lips to her cheek. Once; twice. She closed her eyes and shuddered into his touch.

"Come here," the Dark Ace breathed. Piper sat up with the guidance of a hand on the small of her back, and he pulled her against him. She closed her eyes, clenching her teeth and fighting back a hiccup. He rubbed her back gingerly, tucking her head under his chin and pulling her into his warmth.

With a feeble sob she swallowed, pressing her face against the warm, rhythmic pulse in his neck. With his free hand he unhooked the armor from his back and he shifted her to pull it over his head. Opening her eyes, she let go of his shoulders to help lift it off. She sniffed once more, wetly, and said nothing as the metal of his breastplate bumped his neck and he cringed. There was an ugly bruise peeking from the top of his jumpsuit.

Piper leaned in to timidly press her lips to his, and he hesitated in pulling his gloves off to close his eyes and breathe. When she pulled back, blushing, he leaned forward and captured her lips again.

Dark, delicate fingers pulled off his headgear and returned to knead into his hair, and he tossed his gloves aside to feel her shallow breaths through her sides. Their mouths broke and he ran his thumbs over her cheekbones to dry them. She sighed against his mouth, her arms hanging limply around his shoulders.

His voice was hoarse and tired. "Are you all right?"

She rested her forehead against his chin and opened her eyes. "I will be."

The zipper on the back of his jumpsuit was so bent and crooked that it almost wouldn't move, and the track almost felt like it had been melted. She pulled it down and he shrugged out of it, shoving it off of his frame. His shoulders were drawn tight and there was an angry welt at the base of his spine. He made a strained noise against her lips and she pulled her fingers away from it.

He got to his feet and pulled her up with him, pausing to hold her against his body. He was impossibly strong and safe. She was almost disappointed when he backed up and removed his grip from her waist, holding her hands and pulling her toward his room.

He was more purposeful this time, more driven. Almost angry. His teeth came down so hard that he left bluish marks on her neck and her shoulders, and the sounds he made were deep and guttural as his lips and tongue roamed down her throat and his fingers clenched in the bedsheets. The fear and uncertainty of the first time was replaced with an overpowering feeling of weariness and exasperation, and that began to melt away with every gasp and twitch and movement of fingertips over gleaming skin.

The night seemed to last forever. Reaching ever forth, almost into oblivion.

His eyes were burning. Singeing the very lining of her soul.

His tongue was like acid against her hypersensitive flesh.

Endless connection - endless motion.

Her mouth meeting his as if he were oxygen.

The taste of his skin as she ran her lips over the tip of his middle finger and the rumble of his voice as he moaned against her neck.

The ache of being filled to the hilt as strong, shuddering fingertips dug into the small of her back.

The Dark Ace moaned softly into her ear as her fingers dug into his scalp, her frame moving fluidly against his. Almost as if he was too tired to care if he seemed fragile and needy.

It was a language only the two of them would ever speak; a dance only they would know.

And when he fell asleep with his body curled around hers and his head against her shoulder, Piper could only smile.


	29. The Truth

28: The Truth

* * *

She awoke slowly.

The room felt hazy and cold. Piper pulled the blankets tight around her and breathed in deep.

He smelled wonderful and familiar.

The girl folded her arms over her chest, her long fingernails skimming over the expensive fabric. Her sleepy gaze fell on him, drifting over the graceful curve of his back as it rose and fell.

He was gorgeous.

The warrior's flesh was streaked with old, ugly scars, some small and parallel to one another and others twisted and solitary. Amongst the graceful contours of ribs and spine were blackening bruises that couldn't have been more than half a day old.

She didn't understand how he could be so badly injured. She had seen him fight dozens of times before and now she'd faced him herself. He was agile and a quick thinker. And yet she had seen more burns and bruises on him in the last few days than ever before.

It didn't make sense.

Piper raised a hand. She pressed her dark fingers to his olive skin, her nails tracing three wicked, spidery marks that stretched over his jagged shoulder blade.

Her golden eyes narrowed.

She remembered the time that Finn had been poking around in her lab and had touched a thunderbolt crystal she'd been trying to harness to power the heater in her room. As soon as he'd stopped shrieking and shaking like a leaf, they'd gotten him to sit still long enough to assess the damage. He had an ugly red divot at the point of contact - the back of his right hand - and the puckered marks that raced like lightning up his forearm never had faded.

Was it even _remotely_ possible that he'd be clumsy enough to electrocute himself?

She visualized his movements: every gesture, his every step the epitome of grace.

Removing her hand from the graceful curve of his back, she slid to the edge of the bed, dangling her legs over the side. Her head was foggy and warm with sleep and her hips ached as the bones ground against each other.

The muted sound of his lungs expanding made the silence almost bearable.

Her gaze drifted to the ceiling, cloaked in shadows.

What time was it?

What day of the _week_ was it?

She rose to her feet and looked down at the carpet. It seemed very far away.

There was a rumble of something guttural off in the distance, some great piece of machinery being dropped to the floor or a great peal of thunder drumming through the rolling, blood-red clouds.

A sudden clatter of something outside made her jump. She stared at the door, dazed. Fleetingly she wondered when Ravess would next pay a visit … and how Ace was so tolerant of her when she did.

Piper blinked, turning to the wardrobe standing across the room. The Cyclonian's breathing remained rhythmic behind her.

The door creaked ever-so-slightly as she opened it, releasing the thick smell of varnish and mahogany and pressed clothing. Her fingertips skirted over the multitude of colors and fabrics hanging before her. Pushing past them, she reached toward the back of the cupboard.

The palm of her hand scraped through dust for a second before bumping into something small and smooth. She glanced over her shoulder to find the fighter half-curled up, still a crumple of bruises and expensive sheets. She bit her lip and grasped the box.

The hand-carved wood glinted brilliantly in the light of the dull fuel crystals, releasing tiny dust particles into the air when she ran her thumb over her murky reflection. It was a stark contrast to the cold stone and metal that made up the Dark Ace's quarters and the surrounding fortress. She gave a small smile. In a way, it was more like the man who inhabited this airy, lavish suite than the suite itself.

The latch clicked audibly as she loosed it, and pale blue light spilled from the crack as the lid fell back against her palms. Her fingers closed around the pulsing, smooth source of the glow and she knew immediately what it was.

Lifting it from its container, Piper ran through it a cursory analysis almost without realizing it: an icy blue in color with clean, glossy breaks. Warm to the touch, a nine out of ten on the scale of possible temperatures, and pulsing with palpable energy. There was no other crystal quite like it.

It was a shard of the Aurora Stone.

After the amount of time it had taken to collect the remaining pieces, it surprised her that a piece of it hadn't cleared the borders of Cyclonia when the Dark Ace had attempted to use it against the sky knights. The blast had left warriors temporarily paralyzed while two others had lost limbs. It was even rumored to have changed the direction of the wind over several surrounding terras.

Had someone been sent from Cyclonis's side to collect the leftover shards as well? And if that were the case, why was _he_ charged with keeping it? Wouldn't it be under 24-hour protection of talons who _weren't_ charged with duties that kept them away from Cyclonia for days at a time?

Piper pursed her lips, frowning thoughtfully.

It was more likely that he'd recovered it himself, or at least without his master's knowledge.

Strange.

The tiny strip of something that had been wrapped around the piece of crystal fluttered from between her fingers, catching her attention. As she gathered and re-wrapped it around the stone, she inspected the ribbon more carefully. It was worn and frayed at the edges, folded at one spot toward the end. It was a dark violet in color.

Beneath the crystal Piper found a cord of tightly-braided twine. When lifted from the box, the tiny cylindrical container attached to it slipped out from under the edge of the time-stained paper tucked next to it. She recognized the tube of cloaking crystal dust Cyclonis had worn immediately, and it sent sparks of ice down her arms. The girl held the necklace a little further away from her upon realizing how close she had been to it a few months before. The very instrument her enemy had used to deceive and befriend her was hanging from between her fingers.

Putting the necklace on the floor with slightly less care than the shard of Aurora Stone, the girl returned her gaze to the little wooden box. What caught her attention next was a thick, shiny spool of thin black film. Careful to only touch the edges, the ex-navigator held the end of the reel up to the light.

It took a few moments to make out the details on the tiny squares of transparency. There appeared to be a backdrop of sky, graduated into shadow at the upper edges of each tiny image. Miniscule blots turned out to be several rows of people, all with shoulders squared and chests puffed out until almost identical.

Talons, perhaps?

The only change from picture to picture appeared to be the microscopic dot near the center that Piper guessed was a very small human - perhaps a child - cloaked in fabric. It was approached slowly, picture by picture, by a much taller, more sinister shape, one with jagged fingers for a collar and a long, windblown cape. There was no doubt that this was a great leader - one that bore resemblance to Cyclonia's current ruler.

The little person's face was tilted toward the towering creature, and as Piper neared the last few inches of film, the great figure passed something long and thin to the littler one, assisting it in holding the instrument upright. It reminded her distinctly of Cyclonis's battle staff.

Was this some type of ceremony?

A _succession_ ceremony?

Piper attempted to further scrutinize the party appearing to pass some great responsibility to the child, but at that moment the man behind her shifted a little, causing her to jolt violently from her reverie. She watched him until she was certain he was asleep, then rolled the spool of film back up and set it aside. Her heart was drumming faintly against her chest now. This was her only opportunity to investigate, and no matter how badly injured, the warrior wouldn't sleep forever.

Hands shaking, the girl reached into the box, gingerly touching a folded-up piece of paper that was warped and yellowed with age. It wasn't as old as some of the maps she'd had to transcribe onto newer rolls of parchment, but she still unfolded it with care.

The handwriting was a child's, growing and shrinking as the letters struggled to form tidy lines. The brushstrokes were from an expensive quill pen, though, and it was worded as if it was overseen by someone and written at their instruction.

_Dear Ace:_

_ Today marks the end of my Grandmother's rule. She is a smart and powerful person. One day I want to be just like her. [Maybe not as old though!]_

_ I am writing to thank you for swearing your loyalty to us. I can tell that Grandma really likes you or else you wouldn't be my guardian. I am very excited to meet you because I know you are a great fighter and have been through a lot to come to us in Cyclonia. I know you will protect me no matter who tries to hurt me and that you will fight for our kingdom until your last breath. Hopefully that will not be for a long time._

The image of a powerful, cloaked figure swam in her mind as Piper folded the letter neatly back up and placed it on the floor. There was more to it, but she couldn't bring herself to go on. Her hands were trembling as she placed them in her lap, her eyes returning to the box. There was one item left; one that didn't require much inspection to identify.

A solitary lock of long raven hair.

There was no one who was more skilled than him. No one more swift.

Nobody could inflict such injuries on him without him knowing it was going to happen.

She placed the items in their proper places. The letter on the left; the reel of film on the right. The necklace of spent crystal dust down the middle and the Aurora Stone fragment settled atop it, angled ever-so-slightly.

Nobody could inflict such injuries on him without him _knowing it was going to happen_.

She sucked in air and fisted her hands in the silky black fabric on her lap.

(In the nightgown that was the perfect size for a slender, teenaged girl.)

Piper closed the lid slowly. She swallowed, setting the box carefully behind the row of expensive shirts. She closed the closet doors and sat down on the carpet.

As silence filled her mind, her heart echoed through her ears. The crashing against her chest sounded as if it was coming from somewhere very far away. She closed her eyes and took a deep, heavy breath.

The girl tried to visualize something tranquil - a sunset of lilacs and reds; a soft gray afternoon. It was in vain.

Piper folded her face into her hands and sobbed.


End file.
